THE 

ORIGIN  AND   PERMANENT  VALUE 

OF 

THE  OLD   TESTAMENT 


JFfCtg'Cettt 

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The  Social  Message  of  the  Modern  Pulpit 

By  Rev.  CHARLES  REYNOLDS  BROWN 

A  Study  of  Christian  Missions 
Sixty  Years  with  the  Bible 

By  Prof.  WILLIAM  NEWTON  CLARKE,  D.D. 

The  Bible,  Its  Origin  and  Nature 

By  Prof.  MARCUS  DODS,  D.D. 

The  Origin  and  Permanent  Value  of  the  Old  Testamen  t 

By  Prof.  CHARLES  FOSTER  KENT,  Ph.D. 

The  Gospel  and  the  Church 

By  ALFRED  LOISY 

The  Apostolic  Age 

By  Prof.  JAMES  HARDY  ROPES 

Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ 

By  Prof.  W.  SANDAY,  D.D.,  LL.D..  Litt.D. 

The  Passing  Protestantism  and  Coming  Catholicism 

By  Rev.  NEWMAN  SMYTH,  D.D. 

A  Model  Superintendent 

By  Rev.  H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL 

Sermons  to  Young  Men 
The  Story  of  the  Psalms 

By  Dr.  HENRY  VAN  DYKE 

Epochs  in  the  Life  of  Paul 
Epochs  in  the  Life  of  Jesus 

By  Prof.  A.  T.  ROBERTSON,  D.D. 

The  Faith  of  a  Modern  Protestant 

By  Prof.  WILHELM  BOUSSET 

God's  Choice  of  Men 

By  Rev.  WILLIAM  R.  RICHARDS,  D.D. 

Theology  and  Human  Problems 

By  Prof.  EUGENE  W.  LYMAN,  D.D. 

Thoughts  for  Every-Day  Living 

By  Dr.  MALTBIE  DAVENPORT  BABCOCK,  D.D. 

Faith  and  Sight 

By  Rev.  WILLIAM  P.  MERRILL 

The  Sources  of  Religious  Insight 

By  Prof.  JOSIAH  ROYCE 


Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York 


THE  ORIGIN  AND 

PERMANENT  VALUE  OF 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


BY 


CHARLES   FOSTER   KENT,  PH.D. 

WOOLSEY    PROFESSOR    OF    BIBLICAL    LITERATURE    IN 
YALK    UNIVERSITY 


e  sftall  ftnofo  ity  Erutij  anB  tye  STrutij 
make  gou  free" 


COPYRIGHT,  1906 
BT  CHARLES  SCHIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  April,  1906 


IJflRABY 

UNIVERSITY  O^  CALIFORNI 
SANTA  BARBARA 


PREFACE 

DURING  the  past  generation  the  Old  Testament 
has  commanded  equally  with  the  New  the 
enthusiastic  and  devoted  study  of  the  great 
body  of  biblical  scholars  throughout  the  world. 
Two  out  of  every  three  graduate  students  in 
our  universities  who  specialize  in  the  general 
field  of  biblical  literature  choose  the  Old  as 
the  special  centre  of  their  work.  At  the  same 
time  the  tendency  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Christian  church  within  the  past  decade  has  un- 
doubtedly been  to  neglect  the  older  Testament. 
Preachers  as  a  rule  select  less  than  a  fourth  of 
their  texts  from  it;  the  prevailing  courses  of 
Bible  study  devote  proportionately  less  time 
to  it;  and  teachers  and  scholars  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases  turn  to  the  Old  Testament 
with  much  less  enthusiasm  than  they  do  to  the 
New.  Why  are  these  two  great  currents  set- 
ting in  opposite  directions,  and  what  are  the 
causes  of  the  present  popular  neglect  of  the 
Old  Testament?  If  the  Old  Testament  should 
be  relegated  to  a  second  place  in  our  working 


vi  Preface 

canon  of  the  Bible,  let  us  frankly  and  carefully 
define  our  reasons.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
prevailing  apathy  and  neglect  are  due  to  igno- 
rance of  the  real  character  and  value  of  the  Old 
Testament,  let  us  lose  no  time  in  setting  our- 
selves right. 

The  present  volume  has  been  suggested  by 
repeated  calls  from  ministerial  bodies,  popular 
assemblies,  and  groups  of  college  students  for 
addresses  on  the  themes  here  treated.  The  aim 
has  been  to  give  in  concise,  popular  form  an- 
swers to  some  of  the  many  questions  thus  raised, 
with  the  conviction  that  they  are  in  the  mind  of 
eveiy  thoughtful  man  and  woman  to-day,  and 
especially  on  the  lips  of  earnest  pastors,  mis- 
sionaries, and  Sunday-school  teachers.  There 
are  indications  on  every  side  of  a  deepening  and 
far  more  intelligent  interest  in  the  needs  and 
possibilities  of  religious  education.  Its  vital 
importance  to  the  life  of  the  Church  and  the 
nation  is  being  understood  as  never  before. 
Earnest  and  fruitful  efforts  are  being  put  forth 
to  improve  the  methods  and  courses  of  instruc- 
tion. The  first  essential,  however,  is  a  true 
understanding  and  appreciation  of  that  Book  of 
Books,  which  will  forever  continue  to  be  the 
chief  manual  "for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for 


Preface  rii 

correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness,  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  completely  fitted 
for  every  good  work."  The  supreme  importance 
and  practical  value  of  the  New  Testament  are 
recognized  by  all,  but  we  usually  forget  when 
we  quote  the  familiar  words  of  Paul  that  he 
had  in  mind  simply  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

In  divine  Providence  mighty  forces  have  been 
quietly  at  work  during  the  past  century  remov- 
ing false  rabbinical  traditions  and  misconceptions 
that  had  gathered  about  these  ancient  Scriptures, 
while  from  other  sources  has  come  new  light  to 
illumine  their  pages.  The  result  is  that  in  the 
Old  Testament  the  Christian  world  is  discern- 
ing a  new  heritage,  the  beauty  and  value  of 
which  is  still  only  half  suspected  even  by  intel- 
ligent people.  This  fact  is  so  significant  and 
yet  so  little  recognized  that  one  feels  impelled 
to  go  out  and  proclaim  it  on  the  housetops.  The 
Old  Testament  can  never  be  properly  presented 
from  the  pulpit  or  in  the  class-room  while  the 
attitude  of  preacher  and  teacher  is  apathetic  and 
the  motive  a  sense  of  duty  rather  than  an  intel- 
ligent acquaintance  with  its  real  character  and 
genuine  admiration  and  enthusiasm  for  its  vital 
truths.  The  irresistible  fascination  which  has 


viii  Preface 

drawn  many  of  the  most  brilliant  scholars  into 
the  Old  Testament  field  is  a  proof  that  it  has 
lost  nothing  of  its  power  and  attractiveness.  Al- 
ready the  circle  of  those  who  have  rediscovered 
the  Old  Testament  is  rapidly  broadening.  Ob- 
servation and  experience  confirm  the  conviction 
that  all  that  is  lacking  to  make  that  devotion 
universal  is  a  right  attitude  toward  it  and  an 
intelligent  familiarity  with  its  real  origin,  con- 
tents, and  teachings.  The  sooner  this  is  realized 
the  sooner  some  of  the  most  difficult  problems 
of  the  Church,  of  the  Sunday-school,  and  of 
popular  religious  education  will  be  solved. 

As  the  repository  of  a  great  and  varied  litera- 
ture, as  a  record  of  many  of  the  most  important 
events  in  human  history,  and  as  a  concrete 
revelation  of  God's  character  and  will  through 
the  life  and  experiences  of  a  race  and  the  hearts 
of  inspired  men,  the  Old  Testament  has  a  vital 
message  marvellously  adapted  to  the  intellectual, 
moral,  social,  and  spiritual  needs  of  to-day  and 
supremely  fitted  to  appeal  to  the  thought  and 
imagination  of  the  present  age. 

This  little  volume  is  intended  to  be  simply  a 
very  informal  introduction  to  it.  Since  of  the 
two  Testaments  the  New  is  by  far  the  more 
easily  understood  and  the  better  known,  it  is 


Preface  be 

made  the  point  of  departure  in  the  approach  to 
the  more  complex  field  represented  by  the  Old. 
Many  unexpected  analogies  will  aid  in  under- 
standing the  intricate  literary  history  of  the 
older  Scriptures.  The  point  of  view  assumed 
throughout  is  that  of  the  busy  pastor,  mission- 
ary, Sunday-school  teacher,  and  scholar,  who 
have  little  time  for  technical  study,  but  who  are 
not  afraid  of  truth  because  it  is  new  and  who 
firmly  believe  that  God  is  ever  revealing  himself 
more  fully  to  men  and  that  his  truth  shall  make 
us  free.  It  is  hoped  that  this  general  survey 
will  prove  for  them  but  an  introduction  to  a  far 
deeper  and  more  profitable  study. 

To  the  Reverend  J.  F.  McFarland,  D.D.,  of 
the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  to  Mr.  John  H. 
Scribner  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publi- 
cation and  Sunday-school  Work,  to  Mr.  M.  C. 
Hazard,  Ph.D.,  of  the  Pilgrim  Press,  and  to  the 
Reverend  F.  K.  Sanders,  Ph.D.,  of  the  Con- 
gregational Sunday-school  and  Publishing  So- 
ciety, who  have  generously  read  the  manuscript 
of  this  book,  I  am  deeply  indebted,  not  only 
for  their  valuable  suggestions,  but  also  for 
their  strong  expressions  of  personal  interest 
in  the  practical  ends  which  it  seeks  to  con- 
serve. I  am  also  under  great  obligation  to 


i  Preface 

the  Reverend  Morgan  Millar,  of  Yale,  for  his 
untiring  vigilance  in  revising  the  proof  of  a 
volume  written  within  the  all  too  brief  limits 
of  a  Christmas  vacation. 

C.  F.  K. 

YALE  UNIYIKSITY, 

January,  1906 


CONTENTS 

PAOB 
I.     THE  ECLIPSE  AND  REDISCOVERY  OF  THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT 1 

II.     THE  REAL  NATURE  AND  PURPOSE  OF  THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT 19 

III.  THE     EARLIEST    CHAPTERS    IN    DIVINE 

REVELATION 85 

IV.  THE  PLACE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  IN 

DIVINE  REVELATION 49 

V.     THE    INFLUENCES   THAT   PRODUCED  THE 

NEW  TESTAMENT 63 

VI.     THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  OLD   TESTAMENT 

PROPHETIC  HISTORIES 85 

VII.     THE    HISTORY  OF  THE  PROPHETIC  SER- 
MONS, EPISTLES,  AND  APOCALYPSES  .     .     Ill 
VIII.     THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  EARLIER  OLD 

TESTAMENT  LAWS 123 

IX.    INFLUENCES    THAT  GAVE    RISE    TO   THE 

PRIESTLY  LAWS  AND  HISTORIES  .     .     .     143 

X.     THE  HEBREW  SAGES  AND  THEIR  PROVERBS    161 

XI.     THE  WRITINGS  OF  ISRAEL'S  PHILOSOPHERS    177 

XII.     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PSALTER  ....     189 

XIII.    THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

CANON 208 


xii  Contents 

PAGE 

XIV.  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  EARLY  NAR- 
RATIVES or  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  .  .  223 

XV.  PRACTICAL  METHODS  OF  STUDYING  THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT 245 

XVI.  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  —  THE  FUNDA- 
MENTAL PROBLEM  OF  TO-DAY  259 


THE    ECLIPSE    AND    REDISCOVERY 
OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


THE  ECLIPSE  AND  REDISCOVERY  OF 
THE   OLD   TESTAMENT 

THE  opening  chapters  of  the  Gospels  record  Jesus'  study 
only  three  or  four  meagre  facts  regarding  the  Testament 
first  thirty  years  of  Jesus'  life.  The  real  his- 
tory of  those  significant  years  ran  so  far  beneath 
the  surface  of  external  events  that  it  completely 
escaped  the  historian.  The  history  of  the  men- 
tal and  spiritual  life  of  the  Master  is  recorded  in 
his  mature  character  and  teachings.  The  fugi- 
tive hints,  however,  vividly  illustrate  the  su- 
preme fact  that  he  ever  grew  stronger,  becoming 
filled  with  wisdom  ;  and  the  grace  of  G-od  wa* 
upon  him  (Luke  ii.  40).  They  reveal  a  soul  not 
only  in  closest  touch  with  God  and  with  human 
life,  but  also  in  eager  quest  for  the  vital  truth  re- 
garding God  and  man  recorded  in  the  Scriptures 
of  his  race.  It  requires  no  imagination  to  pic- 
ture the  young  Jew  of  Nazareth  eagerly  study- 
ing in  the  synagogue,  at  the  temple,  and  alone 
by  himself  the  sacred  writings  found  in  our  Old 
Testament,  for  this  fact  is  clearly  recorded  on 
every  page  of  the  Gospels. 


4        Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

HisfamiU-  The  events  of  Hebrew  history,  and  its  heroes 
'ail  part*  —  Abraham,  David,  Elijah  —  were  all  familiar  to 
him.  The  Old  Testament  was  the  background 
of  a  large  portion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
From  Deuteronomy  vi.  4, 5,  and  Leviticus  xix.  18 
he  drew  his  marvellous  epitome  of  all  law  and 
duty.  In  the  wisdom  literature,  and  especially 
in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  he  found  many  of  those 
practical  truths  which  he  applied  to  life  with 
new  authority  and  power.  From  the  same  store- 
house of  crystallized  experience  he  derived  cer- 
tain of  those  figures  which  he  expanded  into  his 
inimitable  parables ;  he  adopted  also,  and  put  to 
new  use,  the  effective  gnomic  form  of  teaching  of 
the  wisdom  school.  As  in  the  mouth  of  his  herald, 
John  the  Baptist,  the  great  moral  and  spiritual 
truths,  first  proclaimed  by  the  ancient  prophets, 
live  again  on  the  lips  of  Jesus.  At  every  point 
in  his  teachings  one  recognizes  the  thought  and 
language  of  the  older  Scriptures.  At  the  mo- 
ments of  his  greatest  temptation  and  distress, 
even  in  the  last  agony,  the  words  of  the  ancient 
law  and  psalms  were  on  his  lips  and  their  con- 
soling and  inspiring  messages  in  his  mind. 
Attitude  of  What  is  so  strikingly  true  of  Jesus  is  equally 

the  apottlet  ,    ,. 

true  of  the  apostles  and  disciples  who  have  given 
us  the  New  Testament  books :  the  atmosphere 
in  which  they  lived,  the  thoughts  which  they 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  5 

thought,  and  the  language  in  which  they  spoke, 
were  those  of  the  Old  Testament.  Not  bowing 
slavishly  before  it,  as  did  their  Jewish  contem- 
poraries, but  with  true  reverence,  singling  out 
that  which  was  vital  and  eternal,  they  made  it 
the  basis  of  their  own  more  personal  and  perfect 
message  to  humanity.  But  for  them,  and  for 
the  early  Church,  until  at  least  the  middle  of 
the  second  Christian  century,  the  only  scrip- 
tures regarded  as  authoritative  were  those  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Even  then,  only  gradually, 
and  under  the  pressure  of  real  needs,  were  dif- 
ferent groups  of  Christian  writings  added  and 
ascribed  an  authority  equal  to  that  of  the  older 
Scriptures. 

Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  and  in  the  eyes  Attitude  of 
of  the  Protestant  reformers  the  two  great  divi- 
sions  of  the  Bible  continued  to  command  equal  p 
respect  and  attention.  From  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  its  reflection  in  the  teachings  of  Paul, 
Puritanism  and  the  theology  of  the  past  three 
centuries  derived  most  of  that  which  revealed 
their  strength  as  well  as  their  weakness.  From 
the  law,  the  prophets,  and  the  book  of  Proverbs 
they  drew  their  stern  spirit  of  justice,  their  zeal 
for  righteousness,  and  their  uncompromising  con- 
demnation of  everything  that  seemed  to  them 
wrong.  Their  preachers  nobly  echoed  the  thun- 


6        Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

ders  of  Sinai  and  the  denunciations  of  an  Elijah, 
an  Amos,  and  an  Hosea.  They  often  failed, 
however,  to  recognize  the  divine  love  which 
prompted  the  stern  words  of  the  prophets,  and 
to  see  that  these  denunciations  and  warnings 
were  simply  intended  to  arouse  the  conscience 
of  the  people  and  to  make  them  worthy  of  the 
rich  blessings  that  God  was  eager  to  bestow. 
Misinterpretation  of  the  spirit  of  the  later 
Old  Testament  reformers,  who  dramatically  por- 
trayed Jehovah's  hatred  for  the  abominable 
heathen  cults  in  the  form  of  commands  to 
slaughter  the  peoples  practising  them,  frequently 
led  the  Puritan  fathers  to  treat  their  foes  in 
a  manner  neither  biblical  nor  Christian.  To 
this  narrow  interpretation  of  the  letter  rather 
than  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
emphasis  placed  upon  its  more  primitive  and  im- 
perfect teachings  can  be  directly  traced  the  worst 
faults  of  that  courageous  band  who  lived  and 
died  fighting  for  what  they  conceived  to  be 
truth  and  right. 

Reaction  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  during  the  past 

a$?bhof  e    two  decades  the  Old  Testament  has  in  fact,  if 

Puntanum   not  jn   theory,  been   assigned  to   a  secondary 

place  in  the  life  and  thought  of  Christendom. 

This  is  not  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Christ  has 

been  exalted  to  his  rightful  position  of  command- 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  7 

ing  authority  and  prestige.  All  that  truly  exalts 
him  likewise  exalts  the  record  of  the  work  of 
his  forerunners  which  he  came  to  bring  to  com- 
plete fulfilment  and  upon  which  he  placed  his 
eternal  seal  of  approval.  Rather,  the  present 
eclipse  of  the  Old  Testament  appears  to  be 
due  to  three  distinct  causes.  The  first  is  con- 
nected with  the  reaction  from  Puritanism,  and 
especially  from  its  false  interpretation  of  the 
Bible.  Against  intolerance  and  persecution  the 
heart  of  man  naturally  rebelled.  These  rang 
true  neither  with  life  nor  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 
Refuge  from  the  merciless  and  seemingly  flaw- 
less logic  of  the  earlier  theologians  was  found 
in  the  simple,  reassuring  words  of  the  Gospels. 
The  result  was  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  very 
few  books  like  the  Psalter,  the  Old  Testament, 
which  was  the  arsenal  of  the  old  militant  theol- 
ogy, has  been  unconsciously,  if  not  deliberately, 
shunned  by  the  present  generation. 

Within  the   past  decade   this  tendency  has  Doubts 
been  greatly  accelerated  by  the  work   of  the  'tlTwlrk  of 
so-called  "  Higher  Gritics."    Because  it  presents 
more  literary  and  historical  problems,  and  be- 
cause it  was  thought,  at  first,  to  be  farther  away 
from  the  New  Testament,  the  citadel   of  the 
Christian  faith,  the  Old   Testament  has  been 
the  scene  of  their  greatest  activity.     With  what 


8        Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

seemed  to  the  onlooker  to  be  a  supreme  disre- 
gard for  the  traditions  long  accepted  as  estab- 
lished by  the  Church,  they  have  persistently 
applied  to  the  ancient  Scriptures  the  generally 
accepted  canons  and  methods  of  modern  his- 
torical and  literary  study.  In  their  scientific 
zeal  they  have  repeatedly  overturned  what  were 
once  regarded  as  fundamental  dogmas.  Unfor- 
tunately the  first  reports  of  their  work  sug- 
gested that  it  was  only  destructive.  The  very 
foundations  of  faith  seemed  to  be  shaking.  Sinai 
appeared  to  be  enveloped  in  a  murky  fog,  instead 
of  the  effulgence  of  the  divine  glory;  Moses 
seemed  to  become  a  vague,  unreal  figure  on  the 
distant  horizon  of  history;  David's  voice  only 
faintly  echoed  through  the  Psalter;  and  the 
noblest  messages  of  prophet,  sage,  and  psalmist 
were  anonymous. 

The  mit-  Little  wonder  that  many  who  heard  only  from 
critics'  ''  afar  tne  ominous  reports  of  the  digging  and 
delving,  and  vague  rumors,  —  all  the  more  ter- 
rifying because  vague,  —  either  leaped  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  authority  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment had  been  undermined  or  else  rallied  in  a 
frantic  effort  to  put  a  stop,  by  shouting  or  com- 
pulsion, to  the  seemingly  sacrilegious  work  of 
destruction.  "When  the  history  of  the  Higher 
Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament  is  finally  writ- 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  9 

ten,  it  will  be  declared  most  unfortunate  that 
the  results  first  presented  to  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  Christian  Church  were,  as  a  rule,  largely 
negative  and  in  many  cases  relatively  unimpor- 
tant. In  their  initial  enthusiasm  for  scientific 
research  scholars,  alas !  sometimes  lost  the  true 
perspective  and  failed  to  recognize  relative  val- 
ues. The  date,  for  example,  of  Isaiah  xl.-lv.  is 
important  for  the  right  understanding  and  in- 
terpretation of  these  wonderful  chapters,  but  its 
value  is  insignificant  compared  with  the  divine 
messages  contained  in  these  chapters  and  their 
direct  application  to  life.  Moreover,  instead  of 
presenting  first  the  testimony  and  then  patiently 
pointing  out  the  reasonableness  and  vital  signifi- 
cance of  the  newer  conclusions,  scholars  some- 
times, under  the  influence  of  their  convictions, 
made  the  fatal  mistake  of  enunciating  those  con- 
clusions simply  as  dogmas. 

History  demonstrates   that  established  reli-  Resulting 
gions  and  churches  always  hold  tenaciously  to  in  the  'Old 
old  doctrines,  and  therefore  regard  new  conclu- 
sions with  suspicion.     This  tendency  is  clearly 
illustrated  in  the  experience  of  Jesus ;  for  with 
all  his  divine  tact  and  convincing  authority,  he 
was  not  able  to  win  the  leaders  of  Judaism  to 
the  acceptance  of  his  revolutionizing  teachings. 
Yet  one  cannot  escape  the  conviction  that  if  in 


10     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

this  age  of  enlightenment  and  open-mindedness, 
the  positive  results  of  modern  scholarship  had 
been  presented  first,  this  latest  chapter  in  God's 
revelation  of  himself  to  man  would  have  been 
better  understood  and  appreciated  by  the  lead- 
ers of  the  Church,  and  its  fruits  appropriated 
by  those  whose  interests  are  fixed  on  that  which 
is  of  practical  rather  than  theoretical  import. 
At  least  many  open-minded  people  might  have 
been  saved  from  the  supreme  error  of  writing, 
either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  Ichabod 
across  the  pages  of  their  Old  Testament. 
Difficulties  The  third  reason  why  the  Old  Testament  has 
Standing  it  suffered  temporary  eclipse  in  so  many  minds  is 
more  fundamental;  it  is  because  of  the  diffi- 
culties in  understanding  it.  The  background 
of  the  New  Testament  is  the  Roman  world  and 
a  brief  century  with  which  we  Western  readers 
are  well  acquainted ;  but  the  background  of  the 
Old  is  the  ancient  East  —  the  age  and  land  of 
wonder,  mystery,  and  intuition,  far  removed 
from  the  logical,  rushing  world  in  which  we 
live.  The  Old  Testament  contains  a  vast  and 
complex  literature,  filled  with  the  thoughts  and 
figures  and  cast  in  the  quaint  language  of  the 
Semitic  past.  Between  us  and  that  past  there 
lie  not  merely  long  centuries,  but  the  wide  gulf 
that  is  fixed  between  the  East  and  the  West. 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  11 

With  three  such  distinct  and  powerful  cur-  The  new 
rents  —  reaction,  suspicion,  and  misunderstand- 
ing  —  bearing  us  from  the  Old  Testament,  it ments 
might  be  predicted  that  in  a  decade  or  two  it 
would  lie  far  behind  our  range  of  vision.  Other 
forces  however  are,  in  divine  providence,  rap- 
idly bringing  it  back  to  us  again,  so  that  we  are 
able  to  understand  and  appreciate  it  as  never 
before  since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 
The  chasm  between  us  and  it  is  really  being 
bridged  rather  than  broadened.  The  long  cen- 
turies that  lie  back  of  the  Old  Testament  have 
suddenly  been  illuminated  by  great  search-lights, 
so  that  to-day  we  are  almost  as  well  acquainted 
with  them  as  with  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era.  From  ancient  monuments  have  arisen,  as 
from  the  dead,  an  army  of  contemporary  wit- 
nesses, sometimes  confirming,  sometimes  correct- 
ing, but  at  all  times  marvellously  supplementing 
the  biblical  data.  Now  the  events  and  characters 
of  Old  Testament  history  no  longer  stand  alone 
in  mysterious  isolation,  but  we  can  study  in  de- 
tail their  setting  and  real  significance.  At  every 
point  the  biblical  narrative  and  thought  are 
brought  into  touch  with  real  life  and  history. 
The  biographies  and  policies,  for  example,  of 
Sennacherib  and  Cyrus,  are  almost  as  well 
known  as  those  of  Napoleon  and  Washington. 


12      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 


Modern 
aids  in  in- 
terpreting 
the  Old 
Testament 


The  prophets  are  not  merely  voices,  but  men 
with  a  living  message  for  all  times,  because 
they  primarily  dealt  with  the  conditions  and 
needs  of  their  own  day.  The  vital  relation 
and  at  the  same  time  the  infinite  superiority 
of  the  religious  teachings  of  the  Old  Testament 
to  those  of  earlier  ages  and  peoples  are  clearly 
revealed. 

Interpreted  in  the  light  of  contemporary  lit- 
erature and  language,  most  of  the  obscurities 
of  the  Old  Testament  melt  away.  Modern  re- 
search in  the  fields  of  Semitic  philology  and  syn- 
tax and  the  discovery  of  older  texts  and  versions 
have  put  into  the  hands  of  translators  new  and 
valuable  tools  for  making  clear  to  all  the  thoughts 
in  the  minds  of  the  original  writers  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Studies  in  comparative  religion, 
geography,  and  modern  Oriental  life  and  cus- 
toms have  illuminated  and  illustrated  at  every 
point  the  pages  of  the  ancient  writings.  To 
utilize  all  these  requires  time  and  devotion,  but 
he  who  is  willing  to  study  may  know  his  Old 
Testament  to-day  as  well  as  he  does  the  New. 
Rejection  of  Fully  commensurate  with  the  great  light  that 
tradition*  nas  ^een  sae^  upon  it  from  without,  is  that 
which  has  come  from  a  careful  study  of  the 
testimony  of  the  Old  Testament  itself.  Until 
recent  times  the  Church  has  been  content  to 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  13 

accept  blindly  the  traditions  of  the  late  Jewish 
rabbis  regarding  the  origin,  history,  and  inter- 
pretation of  their  scriptures.  Handed  down 
through  the  Church  Fathers  and  interwoven 
with  creeds  and  popular  beliefs,  they  have  been 
identified  in  many  minds  with  the  teaching  of 
the  Bible  itself.  Yet,  when  we  analyze  their 
origin  and  true  character,  we  find  that  many 
of  them  have  absolutely  no  support  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  in  many  cases  are  directly 
contradictory  to  the  plain  biblical  teachings. 
Too  often  they  are  but  the  fanciful  conjectures 
of  the  rabbis.  Developed  in  an  uncritical  age, 
and  based  upon  the  unreliable  methods  of  inter- 
pretation current  among  the  Jews  in  the  early 
Christian  centuries,  they  are  often  sadly  mis- 
leading. A  close  analogy  is  found  in  the  tradi- 
tional identifications  of  most  of  the  Palestinian 
sacred  sites.  To-day  the  Oriental  guide  shows 
the  skull  of  Adam  beneath  the  spot  where  tra- 
dition places  the  cross  of  Christ.  If  the  travel- 
ler desires,  he  will  point  out  the  very  stones 
which  John  declared  God  could  raise  up  to 
be  children  of  Abraham.  Every  question  which 
curiosity  or  genuine  interest  has  raised  is  an- 
swered by  the  seemingly  authoritative  voice  of 
tradition.  Investigation,  however,  proves  that 
almost  all  of  these  thousand  identifications  are 


14      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

probably  incorrect.  The  discovery  is  a  shock 
to  the  pious  imagination;  but  to  the  healthy 
mind  uncertainty  is  always  better  than  error. 
Furthermore,  uncertainty  often  proves  the  door 
which  leads  to  established  truth. 

Acceptance  Even  so  the  modern  historical  and  critical 
monyj/^^e  spirit  has  led  men  to  turn  from  the  generally 
Old  Testa-  accepted  but  exceedingly  doubtful  rabbinical 

ment  regard- 
ing its  origin  traditions  regarding,  for  example,  the  date  and 

authorship  of  many  of  the  Old  Testament  books, 
to  the  authoritative  evidence  found  in  those 
writings  themselves.  In  this  they  are  but  fol- 
owing  the  example  of  the  Great  Teacher,  who 
repeatedly  appealed  from  the  same  rabbis  and 
their  misleading  traditions  to  the  same  ancient 
Scriptures.  The  saddest  fact  is  that  many  of 
his  followers,  even  to-day,  hesitate  to  follow 
his  inspired  leadership.  Fortunately,  as  the 
varied  strata  and  formations  of  the  rocks  tell 
the  story  of  the  earth's  early  history,  so  these 
early  writings  furnish  the  data  for  reconstruct- 
ing the  illuminating  history  of  their  origin, 
growth,  and  transmission.  Often  the  testimony 
of  the  facts  differs  as  widely  from  the  familiar 
inherited  traditions  as  the  conclusions  of  mod- 
ern science  from  the  vague  guesses  of  primitive 
man  regarding  the  riddles  of  existence.  Neither 
may  represent  absolute  and  final  truth,  and  yet 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  15 

no  serious-minded  man  can  question  wiiich.  is 
really  the  more  authoritative.  To-day  one  of 
the  most  vital  issues  before  the  Christian 
Church  is  whether  it  will  follow  the  guidance 
of  its  Founder  and  accept  the  testimony  of  the 
Bible  itself  or  cling  blindly  to  the  traditions  of 
the  rabbis  and  Church  Fathers. 

The  student  of  history  at  once  recognizes  in  Historical 
the  modern  movement,  of  which  the  watchword  Ofthe 
is,  "  Back  to  the  testimony  of  the  Bible,"  the 
direct  sequel  to  the  Protestant  Reformation. 
The  early  reformers  took  the  chains  off  the 
Bible  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  men,  with 
full  permission  to  study  and  search.  Vested 
interests  and  dogmatism  soon  began  to  dictate 
how  it  should  be  studied  and  interpreted,  and 
thus  it  was  again  placed  practically  under  lock 
and  key.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  a  young 
Zulu  chief,  a  pupil  of  Bishop  Colenso  of  South 
Africa,  first  aroused  the  Anglo-Saxon  world  to 
the  careful,  fearless,  and  therefore  truly  reveren- 
tial study  of  its  Old  Testament.  With  this 
new  impetus,  the  task  of  the  Reformers  was 
again  taken  up,  and  in  the  same  open,  earnest 
spirit.  For  two  generations  it  has  commanded 
the  consecrated  energies  of  the  most  thorough 
scholars  of  Christendom.  Those  of  England, 
Scotland,  Ireland,  France,  Germany,  Austria, 


16      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Switzerland,  Norway,  Sweden,  America,  and 
Canada  have  worked  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
dividing  the  work,  carefully  collecting  and 
classifying  the  minutest  data,  comparing  re- 
sults, and,  on  the  basis  of  all  this  work,  form- 
ulating conclusions,  some  assured  and  some 
hypothetical,  which  best  explain  the  facts. 
The  unveil-  Often,  to  those  who  have  not  followed  the 
l<$d  Testa-  detailed  steps,  these  conclusions  have  seemed 
only  destructive.  Many  of  them  are  assuredly 
so;  but  the  vital  question  which  every  honest 
man  should  ask  is,  Do  they  destroy  the  Bible, 
or  simply  the  false  traditions  that  have  gathered 
about  it?  Fortunately,  most  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Church  and  most  intelligent  laymen  have 
already  discerned  the  only  emphatic  answer  to 
this  question.  The  Church  is  undoubtedly  pass- 
ing quietly  through  a  revolution  in  its  con- 
ception and  attitude  toward  the  Bible,  more 
fundamental  and  far-reaching  than  that  repre- 
sented by  its  precursor  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion ;  but  its  real  significance  is  daily  becoming 
more  apparent.  Not  a  grain  of  truth  which  the 
Bible  contains  has  been  destroyed  or  permanently 
obscured.  Instead,  the  debris  of  time-honored 
traditions  and  dogmas  have  been  cleared  away, 
and  the  true  Scriptures  at  last  stand  forth  again 
in  their  pristine  splendor. 


The  Eclipse  and  Rediscovery  17 

Freed  from  the  misconceptions  and  false  tra-  The  true 
ditions  which  have  gathered  about  it,  the  true  ment 
Old  Testament  rises  from  amidst  the  dust  and 
din  of  the  much  digging  and  delving.  To  those 
who  have  known  only  the  old  it  is  a  fresh  reve- 
lation. Its  literary  beauty,  its  naturalness,  its 
dignity,  its  majestic  authority  are  a  surprise 
to  those  who  have  not  followed  its  unveiling. 
The  old  vagueness  and  mystery  have  in  part 
disappeared,  and  instead  it  is  found  to  contain 
a  thousand  vital,  living  messages  for  to-day. 
Its  human  as  well  as  its  divine  qualities  com- 
mand our  interest  and  attention.  Through  it 
all  God  speaks  with  a  new  clearness  and  au- 
thority. Thus,  that  which  we  thought  was 
dead  has  risen,  and  lives  again  to  inspire  us 
to  noble  thought  and  deed  and  service. 


n 

THE  REAL  NATURE  AND   PURPOSE 
OF  THE  OLD   TESTAMENT 


n 

THE  REAL  NATURE  AND  PURPOSE  OF 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

TURNING  from  the  Jewish  and  mediaeval  tra-  A  large 
ditions  and  theories  which  so  easily  beset  us,  ftjrary"lp 
we  ask,  What  is  the  real  nature  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  it  is  revealed  in  this  new  and 
clearer  light?  The  first  conclusion  is  that  it 
is  a  library  containing  a  large  and  complex 
literature,  recording  the  varied  experiences, 
political,  social,  ethical,  and  religious,  of  the 
Israelitish  race.  The  fact  that  it  is  a  library 
consisting  of  many  different  books  is  recog- 
nized by  the  common  designation  of  the  two 
testaments.  As  is  well  known,  our  English 
word  Bible  came  originally  from  the  Papyrus 
or  Byblus  reed,  the  pith  of  which  was  widely 
used  in  antiquity  as  the  material  from  which 
books  were  made.  It  was  natural,  therefore, 
that  in  the  Greek  a  little  book  should  be  desig- 
nated as  a  billion.  About  the  middle  of  the 
second  Christian  century  the  Greek  Christians 
(first  in  the  so-called  Second  Epistle  of  Clement 


The  record 
of  God'* 
vital,  per- 
sonal rela- 
tions to  the 
Israelitish 
race 


22      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

xiv.  2)  began  to  call  their  sacred  scriptures,  Ta 
Biblia,  the  books.  When  this  title  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Latin  it  was,  by  reason  of  a 
natural  and  yet  significant  error,  treated  as  a 
feminine  singular,  Biblia,  which  reappears  in 
English  as  Bible.  This  most  appropriate  name 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  books  thus  de- 
scribed are  a  unit  and  yet  a  collection  of  little 
books,  selected  from  a  larger  literature  and  given 
their  present  position  of  preeminent  authority. 

The  term  Testament  suggests  not  the  form 
and  authority  of  the  books,  but  their  theme. 
It  is  the  English  translation,  through  the  Latin 
and  Greek,  of  the  Hebrew  word,  lerith,  usually 
rendered,  covenant.  It  means  a  bond  or  basis 
of  agreement.  It  implies  a  close  and  binding 
contract  between  two  parties,  and  defines  the 
terms  to  which  each  subscribes  and  the  obliga- 
tions which  they  thus  assume.  The  Old  Cove- 
nant or  Testament,  therefore,  is  primarily  the 
written  record  of  the  origin,  terms,  and  history 
of  the  solemn  agreement  which  existed  between 
the  Israelitish  nation  and  Jehovah.  The  early 
narratives  preserve  the  traditions  of  its  origin; 
the  lawgivers  endeavored  to  define  its  terms 
and  the  obligations  that  rested  upon  the  people ; 
the  prophets  interpreted  them  in  the  life  of  the 
nation,  and  the  sages  into  the  life  of  the  indi- 


Nature  and  Purpose  of  the  Old  Testament     23 

vidual;  and  the  historical  books  recorded  its 
practical  working.  The  signficant  fact  is  that 
back  of  the  Old  Testament  records  exists  some- 
thing greater  and  deeper  than  pen  can  fully 
describe :  it  is  a  vital,  living  connection  be- 
tween Jehovah  and  his  people  that  makes 
possible  the  unique  relation  which  finds  ex- 
pression in  the  remarkable  history  of  the  race 
and  in  the  experiences  and  souls  of  its  spiritual 
leaders.  Thus  through  life,  and  in  the  con- 
crete terms  of  life,  God  reveals  himself  to 
the  life  of  humanity. 

In  the  light  of  this  truth  the  Jewish  and  med-  Written  in 
iaeval  dogma  that  every  word,  and  even  every  human  ™ 
letter  of  Scripture,  was  directly  dictated  by 
God  himself,  seems  sadly  mechanical  and  bears 
the  marks  of  the  narrow  schools  of  thought 
in  which  it  took  form.  Hebrew  was  not,  and 
probably  will  never  be,  the  language  of  heaven ! 
Not  on  skins  and  papyrus  rolls,  but  in  the  life 
of  the  Israelitish  race  and  on  the  minds  and 
consciences  of  enlightened  men,  God  wrote  his 
revelation.  History  and  the  character  and 
consciousness  of  the  human  race  are  its  imper- 
ishable records.  Fortunately  he  also  aroused 
certain  men  of  old,  not  by  word  and  act  only, 
but  by  the  pen  as  well,  to  record  the  revelation 
that  was  being  perfected  in  the  life  of  their 


24      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

nation  and  in  their  own  minds  and  hearts. 
He  did  not,  however,  dictate  to  them  the  form 
of  their  writings  nor  vouch  for  their  verbal 
inerrancy.  In  time,  out  of  their  writings  were 
gradually  collected  and  combined  the  most  sig- 
nificant passages  and  books,  and  to  these  was 
finally  attributed  the  authority  that  they  now 
rightfully  enjoy. 
Secondary  The  ultimate  basis  of  that  authority,  however, 

tources  of  , .     .  , ,  -    , .        -..  . 

its  authority  is  not  their  presence  in  the  canon  of  the  Old 
Testament.  At  the  same  time  their  presence 
there  is  deeply  significant,  for  it  represents  the 
endorsement  of  many  ages  and  of  countless 
thousands  who,  from  the  most  varied  points  of 
view  and  amid  the  most  diverse  experiences, 
have  tested  and  found  these  ancient  scriptures 
worthy  of  the  exalted  position  that  has  gradu- 
ally been  assigned  to  them.  It  is  not  the  sup- 
port of  the  Church,  although  this  also  for  the 
same  reason  is  exceedingly  significant.  It  is 
not  the  calm  assumption  of  authority  that  ap- 
pears at  every  point  throughout  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, although  this  is  richly  suggestive;  the 
sacred  writings  of  other  religions  make  even 
more  pretentious  claims.  It  is  not  that  its  com- 
mands and  doctrines  come  from  the  mouths  of 
great  prophets  and  priests,  like  Moses,  Samuel, 
Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah.  This  fact  undoubtedly 


Natwc  and  Purpose  of  the  Old  Testament     25 

had  great  weight  with  those  who  formed  the 
final  canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
authority  of  a  strong,  noble  personality  is  su- 
premely impressive  ;  but  divine  authority  never 
emanates  primarily  from  a  man,  however  great 
be  his  sanctity.  Furthermore,  to  establish  the 
authority  derived  from  a  Moses  or  a  Samuel  it 
is  necessary  in  every  case  to  prove  that  the 
books  attributed  to  them  by  late  tradition  actu- 
ally came  from  their  pens.  Even  if  this  could 
in  every  case  be  done,  some  of  the  noblest  pas- 
sages in  the  Old  Testament  remain  avowedly 
anonymous ;  for  the  tendency  of  the  great 
majority  of  its  authors  was  clearly  to  send 
forth  their  messages  without  any  attempt  to 
associate  their  own  names  with  them. 

The  ultimate  authority  of  the  Old  Testa-  Its  ultimate 
ment,  therefore,  is  not  dependent  upon  devoted  authority 
canon-makers,  nor  the  weighty  testimony  of  the 
Church,  nor  upon  its  own  claims,  nor  the  repu- 
tation of  the  inspired  men  who  have  written  it, 
nor  the  estimate  of  any  age.  Its  seat  of  authority 
is  more  fundamental.  It  contains  the  word  of 
God  because  it  faithfully  records  and  interprets 
the  most  important  events  in  the  early  religious 
history  of  man,  and  simply  and  effectively  pre- 
sents God's  revelation  of  himself  and  of  his 
will  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  great  pre- 


26      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Christian  heralds  of  ethical  and  spiritual  truth. 
Back  of  the  Old  Testament  is  a  vast  variety  of 
vital  experiences,  national  and  individual,  politi- 
cal and  spiritual,  social  and  ethical,  pleasurable 
and  painful.  Back  of  all  these  deeply  signifi- 
cant experiences  is  God  himself,  through  them 
making  known  his  character  and  laws  and  pur- 
pose to  man. 
Its  authority  Students  of  the  rediscovered  Old  Testament 

ethical  and  . 

religious,      also  recognize,  in  the  light  of  a  broader  and  more 

not  scientific  careful    studV)    the   fact>  8Q   often  and   &Q   fataUy 


overlooked  in  the  past,  that  its  authority  lies 
not  in  the  field  of  natural  science,  nor  even  of 
history  in  the  limited  sense.  Time  and  patience 
were  destined  to  increase  man's  knowledge  in 
these  great  departments  and  also  to  develop 
his  mind  in  attaining  it.  The  teaching  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  authoritative  only  in  the  far 
more  important  realm  of  ethics  and  religion. 
Paul  truly  voiced  its  supreme  claim  when  he 
said  that  it  was  profitable  for  teaching,  for  re- 
proof, for  correction,  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness, that  the  man  of  Grod  may  be  perfect, 
completely  fitted  for  every  good  work  (II  Tim.  iii. 
16,  17).  The  assertion  by  the  Church  in  the 
past  of  claims  nowhere  made  or  implied  by 
the  Old  Testament  itself  is  unfortunately  still 
a  fertile  source  of  perplexity  and  dissension  to 


Mature  and  Purpose  of  the  Old  Testament     27 

many  faithful  souls.  Their  salvation  is  to  be 
found  in  a  clear  and  intelligent  appreciation  of 
the  real  nature  and  claim  of  these  ancient 
writings. 

One  dominant  aim  determines  the  form  of  Its  dominant 
each  book  and  the  selection  of  individual  pas- 
sages  and  binds  together  the  whole  :  it  is  effec-  l 
tively  to  set  forth  spiritual  truth  and  to  mould 
in  accordance  with  God's  will  the  characters 
and  beliefs  of  men.  It  was  the  supreme  bond 
that  bound  together  prophets,  priests,  sages,  and 
psalmists,  although  the  means  by  which  they 
accomplished  their  common  purpose  differed 
widely.  Many  a  current  tradition,  and  the  crude 
conceptions  of  the  ancients  regarding  the  natu- 
ral world,  are  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament; 
but  they  are  not  there  merely  to  perpetuate 
history  nor  to  increase  the  total  of  scientific 
knowledge,  but  rather  because  they  concretely 
illustrate  and  impress  some  vital  ethical  and 
spiritual  truth.  Such  singleness  of  religious 
purpose  is  paralleled  nowhere  else  except  in  the 
work  and  teachings  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles. 

The  ever-present  evidence  of  the  divine  au- 


thority  back  of  the  spiritual  teachings  of  the  proof  of  \ts 
Old  Testament  as  a  whole  is  that  they  ring  true 
to  life  and  meet  its  needs.     By  their  fruits  we 
know  them.     It  is   the  demonstration  of  the 


28      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

laboratory.  We  know  that  they  are  inspired 
because  they  inspire.  The  principles  under- 
lying the  social  sermons  of  Amos  are  as  appli- 
cable to  present  conditions  as  when  first  uttered. 
The  sooner  they  are  practically  applied  the 
sooner  our  capitalistic  civilization  can  raise  its 
head  now  bowed  in  shame.  The  faith  that 
breathes  through  the  Psalms  is  the  faith  that 
upholds  men  to-day  in  the  midst  of  temptation 
and  trial.  The  standards  of  justice,  tempered 
by  love,  which  are  maintained  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment laws  make  good  citizens  both  of  earth  and 
heaven.  As  long  as  men  continue  to  test  the 
teachings  of  the  Old  Testament  scriptures  in 
the  laboratory  of  experience  and  to  know  them 
by  their  fruits,  nothing  can  permanently  endan- 
ger their  position  in  the  Christian  Church  or  in 
the  life  of  humanity.  Neglect  and  indifference, 
not  Higher  Criticism,  alone  permanently  threaten 
the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament  as  well  as 
that  of  the  New. 
Significance  Recognizing  the  real  nature  and  purpose  of 
these  ancient  records,  the  true  student  neither 
denies  nor  is  disturbed  by  the  marks  of  their 
human  authorship.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Gos- 
pels, the  variations  between  the  parallel  narra- 
tives are  all  evidence  of  their  genuineness  and 
of  the  sincerity  of  their  purpose.  They  demon- 


\ncont\tttn- 

CtM 


Nature  and  Purpose  of  the  Old  Testament     29 

strate  that  God's  revelation  is  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  life  and  the  comprehension  of  man, 
because  it  was  through  life  and  expressed  in 
the  terms  of  life.  Their  individual  peculiari- 
ties and  minor  errors  often  introduce  us  more 
intimately  to  the  biblical  writers  and  help  us 
to  understand  more  clearly  and  sympathetically 
their  visions  of  truth  and  of  God.  Above  all, 
they  teach  us  to  look  ever  through  and  beyond  all 
these  written  records  to  the  greater  revelation, 
which  they  reflect,  and  to  the  infinite  Source  of 
all  knowledge  and  truth. 

The  inconsistencies  and  imperfect  teachings  The  record 
which  are  revealed  by  a  critical  study  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  also  but  a  few  of  the  many 
indices  that  it  is  the  record  of  a  gradually 
unfolding  revelation.  Late  Jewish  tradition, 
which  is  traceable  even  in  the  Old  Testament 
itself,  was  inclined  to  assign  the  origin  of  every- 
thing which  it  held  dear  to  the  very  beginnings 
of  Hebrew  history,  and  in  so  doing  it  has 
done  much  to  obscure  its  true  genesis.  For- 
tunately, however,  the  history  of  God's  gradual 
training  of  the  race  was  writ  too  plainly  in  the 
earlier  Old  Testament  scriptures  to  be  com- 
pletely obscured  by  later  traditions.  The  recog- 
nition that  God's  all-wise  method  of  revealing 
spiritual  as  well  as  scientific  truth  was  progres- 


30      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

sive,  adapted  to  the  unfolding  consciousness  of 
each  succeeding  age,  at  once  sweeps  away  many 
of  the  greatest  difficulties  that  have  hitherto 
obscured  the  true  Old  Testament.  Jesus  with 
his  divine  intuition  appreciated  this  principle  of 
growth.  Unhesitatingly  he  abrogated  certain 
time-honored  Old  Testament  laws  with  the 
words,  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  .  .  .  but 
I  say  to  you.  His  own  interpretation  of  his  re- 
lation to  the  sacred  writings  of  his  race  was  that 
he  came  to  bring  them  to  complete  fulfilment. 
Rearranged  in  their  approximately  chronological 
order,  the  Old  Testament  books  become  the 
harmonious  and  many-sided  record  of  ten  cen- 
turies of  strenuous  human  endeavor  to  know 
and  to  do  the  will  of  God  and  of  his  full  and 
gracious  response  to  that  effort.  The  beatitude 
of  those  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness was  as  true  in  the  days  of  Moses  as  it  was 
when  Jesus  proclaimed  it. 

It*  different      Finally,  the  right  and  normal  attitude  toward 
very' differ-   the  ^^  Testament  leads  to  the  wholesome  con- 
ent  values     ciusioll  that  its  different  books  are  of  very  dif- 
ferent values.    The  great  critic  of  Nazareth  again 
set  the  example.     As  we  have  just  seen,  certain 
of  the  Old  Testament  laws  he  distinctly  abro- 
gated ;  others  he  quietly  ignored ;  others,  as,  for 
example,  the  law  of  love  (Deut.  vi.  5,  and  Lev. 


Nature  and  Purpose  of  the  Old  Testament     31 

xix.  19)  he  singled  out  and  gave  its  rightful 
place  of  central  authority.  A  careful  study  of 
the  Gospels,  in  the  light  of  the  Old  Testament, 
demonstrates  that  a  very  important  element  in 
his  work,  as  the  Saviour  of  men,  was  in  thus 
separating  the  dross  in  the  older  teachings  from 
the  gold,  and  then  in  giving  to  the  vital  truth  a 
clearer,  more  personal,  and  yet  more  universal 
application.  For  the  intelligent  student  and 
teacher  of  to-day  the  Old  Testament  still  re- 
mains a  great  mine  of  historical,  ethical,  and 
religious  truth.  Some  parts,  like  Genesis,  Deu- 
teronomy, Hosea,  Jeremiah,  Isaiah  xl.-lv.,  and 
the  Psalter,  are  richly  productive.  Others,  like 
Numbers,  Chronicles,  and  Esther,  are  compara- 
tively barren. 

Since  the  Old  Testament  is  the  record  of  a  Application 
progressively  unfolding  revelation,  it  is  obvious  °^ thlt  truth 
that  all  parts  do  not  possess  an  equal  authority. 
To  place  the  example  of  the  patriarchs  or  of 
David,  who  lived  when  ethical  standards  and 
religious  beliefs  were  only  partially  developed, 
on  an  equality  with  the  exalted  ideals  of  the 
later  prophets,  is  to  misinterpret  those  ancient 
Scriptures  and  to  reject  the  leadership  of  the 
Great  Teacher.  At  the  same  time,  studied  from 
the  newer  point  of  view,  the  examples  of  those 
early  heroes  are  found  to  illustrate  vital  prin- 


The  Old 
Testament 
not  a  fetich 
but  a  spiri- 
tual guide- 
book 


32      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

ciples  in  human  life  and  to  inspire  and  warn 
the  child  of  to-day  as  effectively  as  they  did  far 
back  in  the  childhood  of  the  race. 

In  these  later  days  God  has  taken  the  Bible 
from  the  throne  of  infallibility  on  which  Pro- 
testantism sought  to  place  it.  By  a  gradual 
and  yet  benign  process,  which  we  were  never- 
theless at  first  inclined  bitterly  to  resent,  he  has 
opened  our  eyes  to  its  true  character  and  pur- 
pose. Again,  he  has  pronounced  his  Thou  thalt 
not  to  the  natural  and  yet  selfish  human  desire 
to  transfer  moral  and  intellectual  responsibility 
from  the  individual  conscience  to  some  external 
authority.  Again,  he  has  told  us  that  only  in 
the  sanctuary  of  the  human  soul  is  the  Infallible 
One  to  be  found.  Yet  in  order  that  we  each 
may  find  him  there,  the  cumulative  religious 
experience  of  the  countless  thousands  who  have 
already  found  him  is  of  inestimable  value.  The 
Old  Testament  contains  not  merely  the  word  of 
God,  but,  together  with  its  complement  the  New, 
is  the  great  guide-book  in  finding  and  knowing 
him.  It  blazes  the  way  which  the  pilgrim  of 
to-day,  as  in  the  past,  must  follow  from  his 
cradle  to  the  throne  of  God.  At  each  point 
it  is  richly  illustrated  by  the  actual  religious 
experiences  of  real  men  and  women.  Their 
mistakes  and  their  victories  are  equally  instruc- 


Nature  and  Purpose  of  the  Old  Testament     33 

tive.  From  many  vantage-points  reached  by 
prophets  and  priests  and  psalmists,  we  are  able 
to  catch  new  and  glorious  visions  of  God's  char- 
acter and  purpose  for  mankind.  Through  its 
pages  —  sometimes  dimly,  sometimes  brightly, 
but  growing  ever  clearer  —  shines  the  divine 
light  of  God's  truth  and  revelation,  culminating 
in  the  Christ,  the  perfected  revelation  and  the 
supreme  demonstration  that  man,  though  beset 
by  temptation,  baffled  by  obstacles,  deserted  by 
friends,  and  maligned  by  foes,  can  nevertheless, 
by  the  invincible  sword  of  love  and  self-sacrifice, 
conquer  the  world  and  become  one  with  God, 
as  did  the  peerless  Knight  of  Nazareth. 


Ill 

THE  EARLIEST  CHAPTERS  IN 
DIVINE  REVELATION 


m 

THE  EARLIEST  CHAPTERS  IN  DIVINE 
REVELATION 

SINCE  the  days  of  the  Greek  philosophers  the  The  nature 
subject  of  inspiration  and  revelation  has  been  a  t 
fertile  theme  for  discussion  and  dispute  among 
scholars  and  theologians.  Many  different  theo- 
ries have  been  advanced,  and  ultimately  aban- 
doned as  untenable.  In  its  simplest  meaning 
and  use,  inspiration  describes  the  personal 
influence  of  one  individual  upon  the  mind  and 
spirit  of  another.  Thus  we  often  say,  "That 
man  inspired  me."  What  we  are  or  do  under 
the  influence  of  that  intellectual  or  spiritual 
impulse  is  the  effect  and  evidence  of  the  inspira- 
tion. Similarly,  divine  inspiration  is  the  influ- 
ence of  God's  spirit  or  personality  upon  the 
mind  and  spirit  of  man.  It  may  find  expression 
in  an  exalted  emotional  state,  in  an  heightened 
clarity  of  mental  perception,  in  noble  deeds,  in 
the  development  of  character,  indeed  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways ;  but  its  seat  is  always  the  mind 
ff  man  and  its  ultimate  cause  the  Deity  himself. 


38      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Tn  the  Old  The  early  Old  Testament  expression  most 
commonly  used  to  describe  inspiration  was  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  rushed  upon  the  man,  as  it  did 
upon  Saul,  causing  him  to  burst  forth  into 
religious  ecstasy  or  frenzy  (I  Sam.  x.  6, 10),  and 
upon  Samson,  giving  him  great  bodily  strength 
or  prowess  in  war  (Judg.  xiv.  6,  19,  xv.  14). 
Skill  in  interpreting  dreams  and  in  ruling  was 
also  regarded  as  evidence  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  in  a  man  like  Joseph  (Gen.  xli.  38) ;  but 
above  all  the  prophetic  gift  was  looked  upon  as 
the  supreme  evidence  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit 
of  Jehovah  (Hos.  ix.  7  ;  Micah  ii.  7,  iii.  8).  The 
word  spirit  as  thus  used  in  the  Old  Testament  is 
exceedingly  suggestive.  It  means  primarily  the 
breath  that  comes  from  the  nostrils.  Though 
invisible  to  the  eye,  the  breath  was  in  the 
thought  of  primitive  man  the  symbol  of  the 
active  life  of  the  individual.  In  the  full  vigor 
of  bodily  strength  or  in  violent  exercise  it  came 
quick  and  strong ;  in  times  of  weakness  it  was 
faint;  when  it  disappeared,  death  ensued;  the 
living  personality  was  gone,  and  only  the  clay 
remained.  The  same  Hebrew  word,  ruach^  de- 
scribed the  wind  —  unseen,  intangible,  and  yet 
one  of  the  most  real  and  irresistible  forces 
in  all  the  universe.  Thus  it  was  a  supremely 
appropriate  term  to  describe  the  activity  of 


The  Earliest  Chapters  in  Divine  Revelation    39 

God,  as  it  produced  visible  effects  in  the  minds 
and  lives  of  men.  In  the  later  Old  Testament 
literature  its  use  was  extended,  so  that  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  ascribed  activity  in  the  natu- 
ral world  and  in  human  history. 

Of  the  two  terms,  revelation  is  broader  than  Nature  of 
inspiration.  Sometimes  it  is  used  collectively,  r6 
to  designate  the  truth  revealed,  but  it  more 
properly  describes  the  means  or  process  whereby 
it  is  made  apparent  to  the  human  mind.  It 
implies  that  truth  is  always  existent,  but  only 
gradually  recognized.  Inspiration  is  one  of  the 
chief  means  whereby  the  human  vision  is  clari- 
fied so  as  to  perceive  it.  Natural  phenomena, 
environment,  and  above  all  experience,  are  also 
mighty  agents  in  making  the  divine  character 
and  truth  clear  to  the  mind  of  man.  The 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  declares, 
with  true  insight,  that  Q-od  spoke  in  divers  man- 
ners. All  the  universe,  all  history,  and  all  life 
reveal  him  and  his  ultimate  truths,  for  each  is 
effective  in  opening  the  mental  and  spiritual  eye 
of  man  to  see  the  realm  long  awaiting  him  as 
conqueror. 

For  countless  ages  electricity  has  inscribed  its  Man's  r6it 
magic  tracery  on  the  storm-cloud  and  performed  process  of 
its  all-important  functions  in  organic  life,  but revelatton 
not  until  men's  eyes  were  opened  by  experience 


40      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

and  trained  observation  to  recognize  its  laws, 
was  it  practically  applied  to  the  needs  of  civil- 
ization. Similarly,  unchanging  moral  and  spirit- 
ual laws  have  existed  through  all  time,  but  they 
have  not  become  operative  in  human  life  until 
the  eye  of  some  seer  is  opened  by  a  great  expe- 
rience, or  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  he  is  led  to  see  and  proclaim  them. 
Thus  God  is  in  all  and  reveals  himself  through 
all  nature  and  life,  but  it  is  only  through  the 
mind  and  on  the  lips  of  his  highest  creature, 
man,  that  truth  is  fully  appreciated,  formulated, 
and  applied. 

The  revela-  In  the  broader  sense  all  revelation  is  divine, 
^  or  &  reveals  God  and  his  laws ;  and  yet  it  is 
obvious  that  there  is  a  real  difference  between 
the  revelation  recorded  in  a  scientific  book  and 
that  of  the  Bible.  It  is  a  difference  both  in 
subject-matter  and  in  the  ends  to  which  the 
truth  thus  made  manifest  shall  be  applied.  The 
one  relates  to  the  objective  world,  the  world  of 
things ;  the  other  relates  to  human  beliefs,  emo- 
tions, and  acts. 

It*  breadth  Moreover,  it  is  evident  that  the  spiritual  reve- 
lation  which  is  in  part  recorded  in  the  Bible 
was  not  limited  to  the  Israelitish  race  or  to  the 
twelve  centuries  represented  by  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  The  biblical  writers  them- 


The  Earliest  Chapters  in  Divine  Revelation    41 

selves  assume  this  fact.  According  to  the  early 
Judean  prophetic  narratives,  Enoch,  who  lived 
ages  before  Abraham  and  Moses,  was  a  worship- 
per of  Jehovah  (Gen.  iv.  26).  Cain  and  Abel  are 
both  represented  in  the  familiar  story  of  Gene- 
sis iv.,  as  bringing  their  offerings  to  Jehovah. 
One  of  the  chief  teachings  of  the  earliest  stories 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  that  men  from  the  first  v 
knew  and  worshipped  God  and  were  held  v. 
responsible  for  their  acts  according  to  their  ,/ 
moral  enlightenment.  History,  science,  and  the 
Bible  unite  in  testifying  that  the  revelation  of 
spiritual  truth  to  mankind  was  something  grad- 
ual, progressive,  and  cumulative ;  also  that  it  is 
dependent  upon  the  ability  of  men  to  receive  it. 
This  capacity  of  the  individual  to  receive  is, 
after  all,  the  determining  factor  in  the  process  of 
divine  revelation ;  for  God's  truth  and  his  desire 
to  impart  it  are  always  the  same.  Hence,  when- 
ever conditions  favor,  or  national  or  private 
experiences  clarify  the  vision  of  a  race  or  group 
of  men,  a  revelation  is  assured. 
In  the  light  of  ancient  history  and  the  result  Antiquity  of 

e  , .          .,   .  .,  •,  human  civil- 

of  recent  excavations  it  is  possible,  now  as  never  i^tion  and 
before,  to  study  the  varied  influences  and  forces  reli9lon 
employed  by  God  in  the  past  to  open  the  spir- 
itual eyes  of  mankind  to  see  him  and  his  truth. 
The  geological  evidence  suggests  that  man,  as 


42      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

man,  has  lived  on  this  earth  fifty,  perhaps  one 
hundred  thousand  years.  Anthropology,  going 
further  back  than  history  or  primitive  tradition, 
traces  the  slow  and  painful  stages  by  which 
early  man  learned  his  first  lessons  in  civiliza- 
tion and  religion.  From  the  beginning,  man's 
instincts  as  a  religious  being  have  asserted 
themselves,  crude  though  their  expression  was. 
The  oldest  mounds  of  Babylonia  and  Egypt 
contain  ruins  of  ancient  temples,  altars,  and 
abundant  evidence  of  the  religious  zeal  of  the 
peoples  who  once  inhabited  these  lands.  The 
earliest  examples  of  human  literature  thus  far 
discovered  are  largely  religious  in  theme  and 
spirit. 
Primitive  All  these  testify  that  early  man  believed  in 

unfolding  of  .,       ,  .          .„  ,       , 

the  innate  a  power  or  powers  outside  himself,  and  that 
his  chief  passion  was  to  know  and  do  the  will 
of  his  god  or  gods.  Jesus  himself  bore  witness 
in  the  opening  words  of  the  prayer  which  he 
taught  his  disciples,  that  this  is  the  essence  of 
religion.  It  was  natural  and  inevitable  that 
primitive  man,  with  his  nai've  view  of  the  uni- 
verse, should  believe  not  in  one  but  in  many 
forces  or  spirits,  and  that  he  should  first  enthrone 
the  physical  above  the  ethical  and  spiritual.  It 
is  the  instinctive  tendency  of  the  child  to-day. 
The  later  identification  of  the  divine  powers 


The  Earliest  Chapters  in  Divine  Revelation    43 

with  the  sun,  that  gave  light  and  fertility  to 
the  soil,  or  with  the  moon,  that  guided  the 
caravans  by  night  over  the  arid  deserts,  or  with 
the  other  heavenly  bodies,  that  moved  in  majes- 
tic array  across  the  midnight  sky,  was  likewise 
a  natural  step  in  the  evolution  of  primitive 
belief. 

Civilization  and  religion  in  antiquity  devel-  Reasons 
oped,  as  a  rule,  side  by  side.    The  two  great  /onfa  devel- 


rivers,  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates,  command- 
ing  the  trade  of  the  north  and  the  south  ;  prox-  2att<m 
imity  to  the  desert  with  its  caravans  of  traders 
going  back  and  forth  from  the  Euphrates  to  the 
Nile;  the  rich  alluvial  soil,  which  supported  a 
dense  population  when  properly  drained  and  cul- 
tivated; and  the  necessity  of  developing  in  a 
higher  degree  the  arts  of  defence  in  order  to  main- 
tain the  much  contested  territory,  —  these  were 
a  few  of  the  many  conditions  that  made  ancient 
Babylonia  one  of  the  two  earliest  if  not  the  old- 
est centre  of  human  civilization.  The  commer- 
cial habits  and  the  abundance  of  the  plastic  clay, 
which  could  easily  be  moulded  into  tablets  for 
the  use  of  the  scribe,  also  fostered  the  early  de- 
velopment of  the  literary  art.  The  durability 
of  the  clay  tablets  and  the  enveloping  and  pro- 
tecting qualities  of  the  ruined  mounds  of  ancient 
Babylonia  have  preserved  in  a  marvellous  way 


44      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 


Proyren 
during  the 
period  of 
city  states 


its  early  literature.  The  result  is  that  we  can 
now  study,  on  the  basis  of  contemporary  docu- 
ments, this  early  and  yet  advanced  chapter  in 
that  divine  revelation,  the  later  culmination  of 
which  is  recorded  in  the  Bible. 

It  begins  as  far  back  of  Moses  as  he  is 
removed  from  us  in  point  of  time.  Its  political 
background  at  first  is  the  little  city  states  of 
Babylonia,  each  with  its  independent  organi- 
zation and  its  local  schools  of  artists,  whose 
products  in  many  respects  surpass  anything 
that  comes  from  the  hands  of  later  Semitic 
craftsmen.  Each  city  had  its  temple,  at  which 
the  patron  god  of  the  local  tribe  and  district 
was  worshipped.  In  some  places  it  was  the 
moon  god  Sin,  as  at  Haran  and  Ur  beside  the 
desert ;  elsewhere,  as  at  Nippur,  Bel,  or  at  Eridu 
near  the  Persian  Gulf,  Ea,  the  god  of  the  great 
deep,  was  revered.  In  the  name  of  the  local 
deity  offerings  were  brought,  hymns  were  sung, 
and  traditions  were  treasured,  which  extolled 
his  might.  The  life  of  these  little  city  states 
centred  about  the  temple  and  its  cult.  To 
make  it  more  glorious  the  artisans  vied  with 
each  other,  and  the  kings  made  campaigns  that 
they  might  dedicate  the  spoils  to  the  deity. 

In  time,  perhaps  as  early  as  4000  B.  0., 
certain  more  energetic  and  ambitious  kings 


The  Earliest  Chapters  in  Divine  Revelation    45 

succeeded  in  conquering  neighboring  cities;  The growth 
they  even  broadened  their  boundaries  until  they  empire* 
ruled  over  great  empires  extending  to  the  Medi- 
terranean on  the  west  and  the  mountains  of 
Elam  on  the  east.  In  the  name  of  the  local 
god,  each  went  forth  to  fight,  and  to  him  was 
attributed  the  glory  of  the  victory.  Naturally, 
when  the  territory  of  a  city  state  grew  into  an 
empire,  the  god  of  that  city  was  proclaimed  and 
acknowledged  as  supreme  throughout  all  the 
conquered  territory.  At  the  same  time  the 
local  deities  of  the  conquered  cities  continued 
to  be  worshipped  at  their  ancient  sanctuaries, 
and  many  a  conquering  king  won  the  loyalty 
of  his  subjects  by  making  a  rich  offering  to  the 
god  and  at  the  temple  of  a  vanquished  foe. 

The  logical  and  inevitable  result  of  politi-  Its  effect  in 
cal  union  was  the  development  of  a  pantheon, 
modelled  after  the  imperial  court,  with  the  god 
of  the  victorious  city  at  its  head  and  the  leading 
deities  of  the  other  cities  in  subordinate  posi- 
tions. When,  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
third  millennium  before  Christ,  Babylon's  su- 
premacy was  permanently  established  under  the 
rule  of  Hammurabi,  Marduk,  the  god  of  that  city, 
was  thus  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Babylonian 
pantheon.  The  theologians  of  the  day  also 
recast  and  combined  the  ancient  legends,  as,  for 


46      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

example,  those  of  the  creation,  so  as  to  explain 
why  he,  one  of  the  later  gods,  was  acknowl- 
edged by  all  as  supreme.  A  relationship  was 
also  traced  between  the  leading  gods,  and  their 
respective  functions  were  clearly  denned.  Cor- 
responding to  each  male  deity  was  a  female 
deity:  thus,  the  consort  of  Marduk  was  Ishtar, 
while  that  of  Bel  was  Belit.  Furthermore,  the 
ancient  myths  appear  to  have  been  coordinated, 
so  that  from  this  time  on  Babylonian  theology 
presents  a  certain  unity  and  symmetry,  although 
one  is  constantly  reminded  of  the  very  different 
elements  out  of  which  it  had  been  built  up. 
Development  Parallel  to  the  evolution  of  Babylonian 
Standards  religion  was  that  unfolding  of  ethical  ideals 
and  laws  which  finds  its  noblest  record  and  expression 
in  the  remarkable  code  of  Hammurabi  (about 
2250  B.  c.).  In  its  high  sense  of  justice ;  in  its 
regard  for  the  rights  of  property  and  of  individ- 
uals ;  in  its  attitude  toward  women,  even  though 
it  comes  from  the  ancient  East;  and  above  all 
in  its  protection  of  widows  and  orphans,  this 
code  marks  almost  as  high  a  stage  in  the  reve- 
lation of  what  is  right  as  the  primitive  Old 
Testament  laws,  with  which  it  has  points  of 
striking  resemblance. 

The  evolution  of  ancient  Egyptian  civiliza- 
tion and  religion  was  parallel  at  almost  every 


Tlie  Earliest  Chapters  in  Divine  Revelation    47 

stage  with  that  of  Babylonia,  only  in  the  dreamy  A  general 
land  of  the  Nile  the  pantheon   and  the  vast 
body  of  variant  myths  were  never  so  thoroughly 


coordinated.      The  result  is   that  its  religion  tyyf*  an.d 

Babylonia 

forever  remains  a  labyrinth.  Since  all  interest 
centred  about  the  future  life,  instead  of  com- 
mercial pursuits,  there  is  no  evidence  that 
the  Egyptians  ever  produced  a  legal  code 
at  all  comparable  with  that  of  Hammurabi. 
They  did,  however,  develop  a  doctrine  of  sin 
which  anticipates  that  of  the  Hebrew  prophets. 
While  the  Babylonians  conceived  of  sin  as 
simply  the  failure  to  bring  offerings,  or  to  ob- 
serve the  demands  of  the  ritual,  or,  in  general, 
to  pay  proper  homage  to  the  gods,  the  Egyptians 
held  that  each  individual  was  answerable,  not 
only  to  the  state,  but  also  to  the  gods,  for  his 
every  act  and  thought. 

If  they  admitted  of  a  comparison,  it  would  Significance 
be  safe  to  say  that  the  Babylonian  religion  and  religious*  y 
law  in  the   days   of   Hammurabi   were  as  farPr°9ress 
removed  from  the  crude  belief  in  spirits  and  the 
barbarous  cults  and  practices  of  primitive  man 
as  the  teachings  of  Jesus  were  from  those  of  the 
kingly    Babylonian  lawgiver  and  his   priestly 
advisers.    Humanity's  debt  is  exceedingly  great 
to  the  thousands  of  devoted  souls  who,  in  an- 
cient Babylonia  and  Egypt,  according  to  their 


48      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

dim  light,  groped  for  God  and  the  right.     In 
part  they  found  what  they   sought,  although 
they    never    ceased  to    look  through  a  glass 
darkly. 
Its  arrest          The  sad  and  significant  fact  is  that  from  the 

and  decline  I.-KTIIT 

days  of  Hammurabi  to  those  of  Nebuchadrezzar, 
Babylonian  religion,  law,  and  ethics  almost 
entirely  ceased  to  develop.  No  other  great 
kings  with  prophetic  insight  appear  to  have 
arisen  to  hold  up  before  the  nation  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice  and  mercy  and  true  piety. 
The  old  superstitions  and  magic  also  continued 
in  Babylonia  as  in  Egypt  to  exercise  more  and 
more  their  baneful  influence.  Saddest  of  all 
the  priesthood  and  ceremonialism,  which  had 
already  reached  a  point  of  development  com- 
mensurate and  strikingly  analogous  to  that  of 
later  Judaism,  became  the  dominant  power  in 
the  state,  and  defined  religion  not  in  terms  of 
life  and  action,  but  of  the  ritual,  and  so  con- 
stricted it  that  all  true  growth  was  impos- 
sible. Hence  the  religions  of  the  Babylonians 
and  Egyptians  perished,  like  many  others,  be- 
cause they  ceased  to  grow,  and  therefore  degen- 
erated into  a  mere  worship  of  the  letter  rather 
than  the  spirit. 


IV 

THE   PLACE    OF   THE    OLD    TESTA- 
MENT IN  DIVINE  EEVELATION 


IV 

THE  PLACE   OF  THE   OLD  TESTA- 
MENT IN  DIVINE  REVELATION 

MODERN  discovery  and  research  have  demon-  Advent  of 
strated  that  the  truth  revealed  through  the 
Babylonians  and  with  less  defmiteness  through 
the  people  of  the  Nile  was  never  entirely  lost. 
Such  a  sad  waste  was  out  of  accord  with  the  ob- 
vious principles  of  divine  economy.  As  the  icy 
chill  of  ceremonialism  seized  decadent  Babylo- 
nia and  Egypt,  there  emerged  from  the  steppes 
south  and  east  of  Palestine  a  virile,  ambitious 
group  of  nomads,  who  not  only  fell  heir  to  that 
which  was  best  in  the  revelation  of  the  past, 
but  also  quickly  took  their  place  as  the  real  spir- 
itual leaders  of  the  human  race.  Possibly  their 
ancestors,  like  those  of  Hammurabi,  belonged 
to  that  wave  of  nomadic  emigration  which 
swept  out  of  overpopulated  northern  Arabia 
about  2500  B.  c.,  part  of  it  to  settle  finally  in 
Babylonia  and  part  in  Palestine. 

Whatever  be  the  exact  date  of  their  advent,  Why  were 
the  much  mooted  and  more  fundamental  ques-  ch/sen  e 
tion    at    once  presents  itself,   Why  were   thepeople? 


52      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Hebrews  "  the  chosen  people  "  ?  It  is  safe  to 
assert  at  once  that  this  was  not  arbitrary  nor 
without  reason.  Moreover,  the  choice  was  not 
that  of  a  moment,  but  gradual.  Rather  the  real 
question  is,  By  what  divine  process  were  the 
Israelites  prepared  to  be  the  chosen  people  that 
their  later  prophets  and  the  event  of  history 
declare  them  to  be?  Certain  definite  historical 
reasons  at  once  suggest  themselves;  and  these 
in  turn  throw  new  light  upon  the  true  relation 
of  the  Old  Testament  to  divine  revelation  as  a 
whole. 
Their  prepa-  There  is  undoubtedly  a  basis  for  what  Ren  an 

ration  to  be  .  ,  , 

the  chosen     was  pleased  to  call,  "  the   Semitic  genius   fof 


religion."  It  is  a  truly  significant  fact  that  the 
religion  three  great  conquering  religions  of  the  world, 
Judaism,  Christianity,  and  Mohammedanism, 
sprang  from  Semitic  soil.  To  this  might  be 
added  the  religion  of  Babylonia,  which  was  un- 
questionably the  noblest  of  early  antiquity.  In 
general  the  Semitic  mind  is  keen,  alert,  recep- 
tive, and  intuitional  rather  than  logical.  Rest- 
less energy  and  the  tendency  to  acquire  have 
also  tended  to  make  them  leaders  in  the  widely 
different  fields  of  commerce  and  religion.  The 
patriarch  Jacob  is  a  remarkable  example  of  these 
combined  qualities  and  results.  By  day  he  got 
the  better  of  his  kinsmen,  and  by  night  he 


Its  Place  m  Divine  Revelation  53 

wrestled  with  God.  These  combined  and  highly 
developed  characteristics  of  mind  and  nature  at 
least  suggest  why  the  Semites  have  furnished 
the  greatest  prophets  and  prophet  nations  for 
the  moulding  of  the  faith  of  the  world. 

In  contrast  with  contemporary  Semitic  na-  Inheritance 
tions,  and  especially  the  highly  civilized  Baby-  Arabian 
lonians,  the  Hebrews  were  fortunate  in  their antecedentt 
immediate  inheritances  through  Arabian  or 
Aramean  ancestors.  The  wandering,  nomadic 
life  leaves  no  place  for  established  sanctuaries, 
with  their  elaborate,  ceremonial  customs  and 
debasing  institutions  inherited  from  more  primi- 
tive ages.  Instead,  that  life  imposes  limitations  S. 
that  make  for  simplicity.  The  mysteries  and 
constant  dangers  of  the  wild  desert  existence 
also  emphasize  the  constant  necessity  of  divine 
help.  The  long  marches  by  night  under  the 
silent  stars  inspire  awe  and  enforce  contempla- 
tion. The  close  unity  of  the  tribe  suggests  the 
worship  of  one  tribal  god  rather  than  many. 
From  the  desert  the  ancestors  of  the  Hebrews 
brought  strong  bodies,  inured  to  hardship,  and 
a  grim  austerity  that  found  frequent  expression 
on  the  lips  of  their  prophets  and  a  response  in 
the  minds  of  the  people,  when  luxury  threatened 
to  engulf  them.  They  also  inherited  from  their 
desert  days  those  democratic  ideas  and  high 


54      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

ideals  of  individual  liberty  which,  enabled  Elijah 
and  Isaiah  to  stand  up  and  champion  the  rights 
of  the  people  even  though  it  involved  a  public 
denunciation  of  their  kings. 

Contact  with  On  the  other  hand,  the  Israelites  undoubt- 
dvilization  ^7  became  in  time  the  inheritors  of  the  best 
in  religion  and  law  that  had  been  attained  by 
the  older  Semitic  races.  Their  late  traditions 
trace  back  their  ancestry  to  ancient  Babylonia. 
Already  for  long  centuries,  by  conquest  and 
by  commerce,  the  dominant  civilization  of  the 
Euphrates  valley  had  been  regnant  in  the  land 
of  Canaan.  The  Tell-el-Amarna  letters,  writ- 
ten from  Palestine  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
employ  the  Babylonian  language  and  system 
of  writing,  and  reveal  a  high  Semitic  civiliza- 
tion, closely  patterned  after  that  of  Babylonia. 
When  the  Israelites  settled  in  Canaan  and  be- 
gan to  intermarry  and  assimilate  with  the  older 
inhabitants,  as  the  earliest  Hebrew  records 
plainly  state  (cf.  Judg.  i.),  they  found  there, 
among  the  Canaanites,  established  civil  and  re- 
ligious institutions  and  traditions  which  were 
largely  a  reflection  of  those  of  Babylonia.  Also, 
when  hi  the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  As- 
syrian armies  conquered  Palestine,  they  brought 
Babylonian  institutions,  traditions,  and  religious 
ideas.  We  know  that  during  the  reigns  of 


Its  Place  in  Divine  Revelation  55 

Ahaz  and  Manasseh  these  threatened  to  dis- 
place those  peculiar  to  the  Hebrews.  Again, 
during  the  Babylonian  exile  the  influence  of 
the  same  powerful  civilization  upon  the  thought 
and  religion  of  Israel  was  also  strongly  felt. 
Thus  the  opportunities,  direct  and  indirect, 
for  receiving  from  Babylonia  much  of  the  rich 
heritage  that  it  held  were  many  and  varied. 

Certain  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  itself  Heirt  of  the 
testify  that  the  wealth  of  tradition,  of  institu-  °cirilization* 
tions,  of  laws,  and  religious  ideas,  gradually 
committed  to  the  Semitic  ancestors  of  the  He- 
brews and  best  preserved  by  the  Babylonians, 
was  not  lost,  but,  enriched  and  purified,  has 
been  transmitted  to  us  through  its  pages.  A 
careful  comparison  of  the  biblical  and  Baby- 
lonian accounts  of  the  creation  and  the  flood 
leaves  little  doubt  that  there  is  a  close  histori- 
cal connection  between  these  accounts.  Inves- 
tigation reveals  in  language,  spirit,  and  form 
many  analogies  between  the  laws  of  Hammu- 
rabi and  those  of  the  Old  Testament  which  sug- 
gest at  least  an  indirect  influence.  Many  of 
the  ceremonial  institutions  of  later  Judaism 
are  almost  identical  with  those  of  Babylonia. 
While  it  is  exceedingly  easy  to  over  or  under 
estimate  this  influence,  it  is  a  mistake  to  deny 
or  ignore  its  deep  significance. 


56      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Recipient*  Thus  one  of  the  chief  elements  in  the  provi- 
wasbest\n  dential  training  of  the  Hebrews  as  the  heralds 
earlier  reve-  an(j  exponents  of  the  most  exalted  religious 
and  ethical  truths  revealed  before  the  advent  of 
the  Prophet  of  Nazareth  was  the  fact  that  they 
were  the  heirs  and  interpreters  of  the  best  that 
had  been  hitherto  attained.  Babylonia,  Egypt, 
and  later,  Persia  and  Greece,  each  contributed 
their  noblest  beliefs  and  ideals.  In  the  Isra- 
elites the  diverse  streams  of  divine  revelation 
converged.  The  result  is  that,  instead  of  many 
little  rivulets,  befouled  by  errors  and  supersti- 
tions, through  their  history  there  flowed  a 
mighty  stream,  ever  becoming  broader  and 
deeper  and  clearer  as  it  received  fresh  con- 
tributions from  the  new  fountains  of  purest 
revelation  that  opened  in  Hebrew  soil. 
Inclose  Clear  evidences  of  the  divine  purpose  to  be 

relations^    realized  through  the  obscure  peasant  people  who 
the  earlier     ijve(j  among  the  uplands  of  central  Canaan  are 

civilizations 

found  in  a  study  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
Old  Testament  world.  It  is  indeed  the  earliest 
and  one  of  the  most  significant  chapters  in 
divine  revelation.  Most  of  its  area  is  a  barren 
wilderness,  supporting  only  a  small  nomadic 
population.  The  three  fertile  spots  are  Baby- 
lonia, Canaan,  and  Egypt.  The  first  and  last 
are  fitted  by  nature  and  situation  to  be  the  seats 


Its  Place  in  Divine  Revelation  57 

of  powerful  civilizations,  destined  to  reach  out 
in  every  direction.  Canaan,  on  the  contrary,  is 
shut  in,  with  no  good  harbors  along  the  Medi- 
terranean ;  and  its  largest  river  system  leads  to 
the  Dead  Sea,  far  below  the  surface  of  the 
ocean, — an  effective  negation  to  all  commerce. 
Although  thus  shut  in  by  itself,  Canaan  lies  on 
the  isthmus  of  fertile  land  that  connects  the 
great  empires  of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates. 
On  the  east  and  south  it  is  always  subject  to 
the  influences  and  waves  of  immigration  that 
come  from  the  Arabian  desert.  It  attracted 
from  their  nomadic  life  the  ancestors  of  the 
Israelites,  and  during  their  early  period  of  de- 
velopment gave  them  a  secluded  home.  When 
they  were  ready  to  learn  the  larger  lessons  in 
the  stream  of  life,  Egypt  and  the  great  empire* 
of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valley  contended 
for  them,  conquered  and  ultimately  scattered 
them  throughout  the  then  known  world.  While 
their  conquerors,  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylonia, 
Persia,  Greece,  and  Rome,  the  greatest  powers 
of  the  ancient  world,  took  from  them  their  gold 
and  their  freedom,  from  the  same  conquerors 
they  appear  to  have  received  the  infinitely  more 
precious  treasures  of  tradition  and  thought. 

Great  as  was  their  heritage  from  the  past,  the 
truth  that  came  through  the   Hebrews  them- 


58      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Trained  by  selves  constitutes  by  far  the  greatest  and  most 
'naifonal  *  significant  part  of  that  revelation  which  the  Old 
experience  Testament  records.  Their  history  suggests  the 
ways  in  which  Jehovah  opened  the  spiritual 
eyes  of  the  people.  From  the  beginning  to  the 
present  day  it  has  been  characterized  by  a  series 
of  crises  unparalleled  in  the  life  of  any  other 
race.  Experiences,  intense  and  often  superla- 
tively painful,  have  come  to  them  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, forcing  them  to  think  and  develop. 
The  little  street  Arab,  alert,  resourceful,  un- 
canny in  his  prematurity,  is  a  modern  illustra- 
tion of  what  grim  necessity  and  experience  can 
produce.  It  was  in  the  school  supremely  adapted 
to  divine  ends  that  Jehovah  trained  his  people 
to  be  his  spokesmen  to  the  world. 
Guided  by  Other  peoples,  however,  had  their  crises  and 

unique  spirit-        ,    ,      ,  ,  ,.,    ,,        T          ,., 

ual  teachers  yet  had  no  such  message  as  did  the  Israelites. 
What  made  the  crises  in  the  history  of  the 
Israelites  richly  fruitful  in  ethical  and  spiritual 
truth  was  the  presence  within  their  midst  of 
certain  devoted,  responsive  teachers,  and  espe- 
cially the  prophets,  who  guided  them  in  their 
time  of  peril,  interpreted  its  significance,  and 
appealed  to  the  awakened  conscience  of  the 
nation.  Like  begets  like.  At  the  beginning 
of  Israel's  history  stands  the  great  prophet 
Moses,  and  during  the  long  centuries  that  fol- 


Its  Place  in  Divine  Revelation  59 

lowed   the   voice  of   the  prophets  was   rarely 
hushed. 

In  seeking  the  ultimate  answer  to  our  ques-  Taught  by 
tion,  How  were  the  Israelites  prepared  to  \ 
the  chosen  people,  we  are  confronted  by  a  mir- 
acle that  baffles  our  power  to  analyze :  it  is  the 
supreme  fact  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Almighty 
touched  the  spirit  of  certain  men  in  ancient 
Israel  so  that  they  became  seers  and  prophets. 
This  is  their  own  testimony,  and  their  deeds  and 
words  amply  confirm  it.  The  experiences  of 
men  to-day  also  demonstrate  its  possibility. 
Indeed  it  is  not  surprising,  but  most  natural, 
that  the  one  supreme  Personality  in  the  universe 
should  reveal  himself  to  and  through  human 
minds,  and  that  the  most  enlightened  men  of 
the  most  spiritually  enlightened  race  should 
be  the  recipients  of  the  fullest  and  most  perfect 
revelation.  It  is  the  truth  that  they  thus  per- 
ceived, and  then  proclaimed  by  word  and  deed 
and  pen,  that  completed  the  preparation  of  the 
chosen  people,  for  it  was  none  other  than  the 
possession  of  a  unique  spiritual  message  that 
constituted  the  essence  of  their  choice.  Fur- 
thermore, as  the  greatest  of  the  later  prophets 
declares  (Is.  xL-lv.),  that  divine  choice  did  not 
mean  that  they  were  to  be  the  recipients  of 
exceptional  favors,  but  rather  that  they  were 


60      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

called  to  service.  By  the  patient  enduring  of 
suffering  and  by  voluntary  self-sacrifice  they 
were  to  perfect  the  revelation  of  God's  charac- 
ter and  will  in  the  life  of  humanity. 
Jesus'  rela-  The  Old  Testament,  therefore,  is  the  final 
Old  Testa-  record  of  a  revelation  extending  through  thou- 
sands of  years,  finding  at  last  its  most  exalted  ex- 
pression in  the  messages  of  the  Hebrew  prophets, 
and  its  clearest  reflection  in  the  thoughts  and 
experiences  of  the  priests,  sages,  and  psalmists 
of  ancient  Israel.  In  varied  literary  forms  and 
by  many  different  writers  the  best  fruits  of  that 
revelation  have  been  preserved.  Ancient  tradi- 
tions, songs,  proverbs,  laws,  historical  narratives, 
prophecies,  and  psalms,  each  present  their  pre- 
cious truth.  The  Israelitish  race,  however,  never 
fully  completed  the  work  to  which  it  was  called. 
A  master  was  needed  to  distinguish  between  the 
essential  and  the  non-essential,  to  simplify  and 
unify  the  teachings  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a 
whole,  and  to  apply  them  personally  to  indi- 
vidual life.  A  man  was  demanded  to  realize 
fully  in  his  own  character  the  highest  ideals 
of  this  ancient  revelation.  A  divinely  gifted 
prophet  was  required  to  perfect  man's  knowl- 
edge, and  to  bring  him  into  natural,  harmonious 
relations  with  his  Eternal  Father.  The  world 
awaited  the  advent  of  a  Messiah  who  would 


Its  Place  in  Divine  Revelation  61 

establish,  on  the  everlasting  foundations  of 
justice  and  truth  and  love,  the  universal  king- 
dom of  God.  These  supreme  needs  were  met 
in  fullest  measure  by  the  Master,  the  perfect 
Man,  the  Prophet,  and  the  Messiah,  whose 
work  the  New  Testament  records. 

While   there  are  many  superficial  points  of  Point*  of 

«•  -i  i  •  <•  likeness  and 

difference  in  language,  literary  form,  back-  contact  be- 
ground,  and  point  of  view  between  the  Old  and  t 
the  New  Testaments,  these  are  insignificant  in  mentt 
comparison  with  the  essential  points  of  likeness 
and  contact.  Each  Testament  is  but  a  different 
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  same  divine  reve- 
lation. The  one  is  the  foundation  on  which 
the  other  is  built.  The  writers  of  the  New  con- 
stantly assume  the  historical  facts,  the  institu- 
tions, and  the  teachings  of  the  Old.  Although 
in  Greek  garb,  their  language  and  idioms  are 
also  those  of  the  Old.  On  many  themes,  as  for 
example,  man's  duty  to  society,  Jesus  said  little, 
for  the  teachers  of  his  race  had  fully  developed 
them  and  there  was  little  to  add.  Repeatedly 
by  word  and  act  he  declared  that  he  came  not 
to  destroy  the  older  teachings,  but  simply  to 
bring  them  to  full  perfection.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment also  tells  of  the  long  years  of  preparation 
and  of  the  earnest  expectations  of  the  Israelitish 
race;  the  New  records  a  fulfilment  far  tran- 


62      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

scending  the  most  exalted  hopes  of  Hebrew 
seers.  The  same  God  reveals  himself  through 
both  Testaments.  One  progressively  unfolding 
system  of  religious  teachings,  one  message  of 
love,  and  one  divine  purpose  bind  both  together 
with  bonds  that  no  generation  or  church  can 
break. 


THE  INFLUENCES  THAT  PRODUCED 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 


THE    INFLUENCES    THAT    PRODUCED 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 

THE  present  age  is  supremely  interested  in  Importance 
origins.  Not  until  we  have  traced  the  genesis  of  orient  y 
and  earliest  unfolding  of  an  institution  or  an 
idea  or  a  literature  do  we  feel  that  we  really 
understand  and  appreciate  it.  Familiarity  with 
that  which  is  noble  breeds  not  contempt  but 
reverence,  and  intelligent  devotion.  Acquaint- 
ance with  the  origin  and  history  of  a  book  is 
essential  to  its  true  interpretation.  Therefore 
it  is  fortunate  that  modern  discovery  and  re- 
search have  thrown  so  much  light  upon  the 
origin  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments. 

Equally  fortunate  is  it  that  we  are  also  learn-  The 
ing  to  appreciate  the  sublimity  and  divinity  of 
the  natural.  The  universe  and  organic  life  are 
no  less  wonderful  and  awe-inspiring  because, 
distinguishing  some  of  the  natural  laws  that 
govern  their  evolution,  we  have  abandoned 
the  grotesque  theories  held  by  primitive  men. 
Similarly  we  do  not  to-day  demand,  as  did  our 
forefathers,  a  supernatural  origin  for  our  sacred 
5 


66      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

books  before  we  are  ready  to  revere  and  obey 
their  commands.  With  greater  insight  we  now 
can  heartily  sing,  "  God  moves  in  a  natural  way 
his  wonders  to  perform."  Our  ability  to  trace 
the  historical  influences  through  which  he 
brought  into  being  and  shaped  the  two  Testa- 
ments and  gave  them  their  present  position  in 
the  life  of  humanity  does  not  in  a  thoughtful 
mind  obscure,  but  rather  reveals  the  more  clearly, 
their  divine  origin  and  authority. 

Valw  of  the  Through  contemporary  writings  and  the  re- 
suits  of  modern  biblical  research  it  is  possible  to 
study  definitely  the  origin  of  the  various  New 

mentt  Testament  books  and  to  follow  the  different 
stages  in  their  growth  into  a  canon.  This  fa- 
miliar chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Bible  is 
richly  suggestive,  because  of  the  clear  light 
which  it  sheds  upon  the  more  complex  and  ob- 
scure genesis  and  later  development  of  the  Old 
Testament.  It  will  be  profitable,  therefore,  to 
review  it  in  outline,  not  only  because  of  its  own 
importance,  but  also  as  an  introduction  to  the 
study  of  the  influences  that  produced  the  older 
Scriptures;  for  almost  every  fact  that  will  be 
noted  in  connection  with  the  origin  and  literary 
history  of  the  New  has  its  close  analogy  in  the 
growth  of  the  Old  Testament. 

We  find  that  as  they  are  at  present  arranged, 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    67 

the  books  of  the  New  Testament  are  divided  The  three- 
into  three  distinct  classes.     The  first  group  in-  ;L  $  'the' 


eludes  the  historical  books:  the  Gospels 
Acts;  the  second,  the  Epistles  —  the  longer, 
like  the  letters  to  the  Romans  and  Corinthians, 
being  placed  first  and  the  shorter  at  the  end; 
while  the  third  group  contains  but  one  book, 
known  as  the  Apocalypse  or  Revelation.  The 
general  arrangement  is  clearly  according  to  sub- 
ject-matter, not  according  to  date  of  authorship  ; 
the  order  of  the  groups  represent  different  stages 
in  the  process  of  canonization. 

Their  position  as  well  as  the  themes  which  Why  the 
they  treat  suggest  that  the  Gospels  were  the  not  the 
first  to  be  written.  It  is,  however,  a  self-evi-  ear  iest 
dent  fact  that  a  book  was  not  written  —  at  least 
not  in  antiquity,  when  the  making  of  books  was 
both  laborious  and  expensive  —  unless  a  real 
need  for  it  was  felt.  If  we  go  back,  and  live 
for  a  moment  in  imagination  among  the  band  of 
followers  which  Jesus  left  behind  at  his  death, 
we  see  clearly  that  while  the  early  Christian 
Church  was  limited  to  Palestine,  and  a  large 
company  of  disciples,  who  had  often  themselves 
seen  and  heard  the  Christ,  lived  to  tell  by  word 
of  mouth  the  story  of  his  life  and  teachings,  no 
one  desired  a  written  record.  It  is  not  surpris- 
ing, therefore,  that  the  oldest  books  in  the  New 


68      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Testament  are  not  the  Gospels.  The  exigen- 
cies of  time  and  space  and  the  burning  zeal  of 
the  apostles  for  the  churches  of  their  plant- 
ing apparently  produced  the  earliest  Christian 
writings. 

Origin  of  the  In  his  second  missionary  journey  Paul 
epistles  preached  for  a  time  at  Thessalonica,  winning 
to  faith  in  the  Christ  a  small  mixed  company  of 
Jews  and  proselyte  Greeks.  His  success  aroused 
the  bitter  opposition  of  the  narrower  Jews,  who 
raised  a  mob  and  drove  him  from  the  city  before 
his  work  was  completed.  But  the  seed  which 
he  had  planted  continued  to  grow.  Naturally 
he  was  eager  to  return  to  the  infant  church. 
Twice  he  planned  to  visit  it,  but  was  prevented. 
In  his  intense  desire  to  help  the  brave  Christians 
of  Thessalonica,  he  sent  Timothy  to  inquire  re- 
garding their  welfare  and  to  encourage  them. 
When  about  50  A.  D.  Timothy  reported  to  Paul 
at  Corinth,  the  apostle  wrote  at  once  to  the  little 
church  at  Thessalonica  a  letter  of  commendation, 
encouragement,  and  counsel,  which  we  know  to- 
day as  First  Thessalonians  and  which  is  probably 
one  of  the  oldest  writings  in  our  New  Testament, 
Galatians  perhaps  being  the  earliest. 
Paul's  later  Another  letter  (II  Thess.)  soon  followed,  giv- 

epistles  ,  ».••»*•  i      /»   i  i      *  it      it 

mg  more  detailed  advice.  As  the  field  of  Paul  s 
activity  broadened,  he  was  obliged  more  and 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    69 

more  to  depend  upon  letters,  since  he  could 
not  in  person  visit  the  churches  which  he  had 
planted.  Questions  of  doctrine  as  well  as  of 
practice  which  perplexed  the  different  churches 
were  treated  in  these  epistles.  To  certain  of  his 
assistants,  like  Timothy,  he  wrote  dealing  with 
their  personal  problems.  Frankly,  forcibly,  and 
feelingly  Paul  poured  out  in  these  letters  the 
wealth  of  his  personal  and  soul  life.  They 
reveal  his  faith  in  the  making  as  well  as  his 
mature  teachings.  Since  he  was  dealing  with 
definite  conditions  in  the  communities  to  which 
he  wrote,  his  letters  are  also  invaluable  contem- 
porary records  of  the  growth  and  history  of  the 
early  Christian  church.  Thus  between  30  and 
60  A.  D.,  during  the  period  of  his  greatest  activ- 
ity, certainly  ten,  and  probably  thirteen,  of  our 
twenty-seven  New  Testament  books  came  from 
the  burning  heart  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

Similar  needs  impelled   other   apostles   and  Growth  of 
early  Christian  teachers  to  write  on  the  same  epistles 
themes  with  the   same  immediate  purpose  as 
moved  Paul.    The  result  is  a  series  of  epistles, 
associated  with  the  names  of  James,  Peter,  John, 
and  Jude.     In  some,  like  Third  John,  the  per- 
sonal element  is  predominant ;  in  others,  the  di- 
dactic, as,  for  example,  the  Epistle  of  James. 


70      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Purpose  of  A  somewhat  different  type  of  literature  is 
to\hePl*  represented  by  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Its 
Hebrew*  form  is  that  of  a  letter,  and  it  was  without  doubt 
originally  addressed  to  a  local  church  or  churches 
by  a  writer  whose  name  has  ever  since  been  a 
fertile  source  of  conjecture.  The  only  fact  defi- 
nitely established  is  that  Paul  did  not  write  it. 
It  is  essentially  a  combination  of  argument,  doc- 
trine, and  exhortation.  The  aim  is  apologetic  as 
well  as  practical.  Most  of  Paul's  letters  were 
written  as  the  thoughts,  which  he  wished  to 
communicate  to  those  to  whom  he  wrote,  came 
to  his  mind ;  but  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
the  author  evidently  follows  a  carefully  elabo- 
rated plan.  The  argument  is  cumulative.  The 
thesis  is  that  Christ,  superior  to  all  earlier 
teachers  of  his  race,  is  the  perfect  Mediator 
of  Salvation. 
Value  of  the  Thus  the  Epistles,  originally  personal  notes 

Epistles  f  i 

of  encouragement  and  warning,  growing  some- 
times into  more  elaborate  treatises,  were  made 
the  means  whereby  the  early  Christian  teachers 
imparted  their  doctrines  to  constantly  widening 
groups  of  readers.  At  best  they  were  regarded 
simply  as  inferior  substitutes  for  the  personal 
presence  and  spoken  words  of  their  authors. 
Like  the  Old  Testament  books,  their  authority 
lies  in  the  fact  that  they  faithfully  reflect,  in  part 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    71 

at  least,  the  greater  revelation  coming  through 
the  lives  and  minds  of  the  early  apostles. 

As  is  well  known,  the  twenty-one  letters  in  The  larger 
our  New  Testament  were  selected  from  a  far^roup 
larger  collection  of  epistles,  some  of  which  were 
early  lost,  while   others,  like   the   Epistles   of 
Barnabas    and    Polycarp   and    Clement,    were 
preserved  to  share  with  those  later  accepted 
as  canonical,  the  study  and  veneration  of  the 
primitive  Church. 

The  influences  which  originally  produced  the  Influences 
Gospels  and  Acts  were  very  different  from  those 
which  called  forth  the  Epistles.  The  natural  Gospds 
preference  of  the  early  Christians  for  the  spoken 
word  explains  why  we  do  not  possess  to-day  a 
single  written  sentence  in  the  Gospels  which  we 
can  with  absolute  assurance  assign  to  the  first 
quarter-century  following  the  death  of  Jesus. 
Two  influences,  however,  in  time  led  certain 
writers  to  record  his  early  life  and  teachings. 
The  one  was  that  death  was  rapidly  thinning  the 
ranks  of  those  who  could  say,  /  saw  and  heard ; 
the  other  was  the  spread  of  Christianity  beyond 
the  bounds  of  Judaism  and  Palestine,  and  the 
resulting  need  for  detailed  records  felt  by  those 
Christians  who  had  never  visited  Palestine  and 
who  had  learned  from  the  lips  of  apostles  only 
the  barest  facts  regarding  the  life  of  the  Christ. 


72      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Testimony  The  opening  verses  of  Luke's  Gospel  are  richly 
suggestive  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  his- 
torical books  of  the  New  Testament : 

Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to 
draw  up  a  narrative  concerning  those  matters 
which  have  been  fulfilled  among  us,  even  as 
they  delivered  them  unto  us,  —  they  who 
from  the  beginning  were  eye-witnesses  and 
ministers  of  the  word,  it  seemed  good  to  me 
also,  having  traced  the  course  of  all  things 
accurately  from  the  first,  to  write  unto  thee 
in  order,  most  excellent  Theophilus,  that  thou 
mightest  know  the  certainty  concerning  the 
things  wherein  thou  wast  instructed. 

This  prologue  states  that  many  shorter  Gos- 
pels had  previously  been  written,  not  by  eye- 
witnesses, but  by  men  who  had  listened  to  those 
who  had  themselves  seen.  Luke  leaves  his 
readers  to  infer  that  he  also  drew  a  large  number 
of  his  facts  from  these  earlier  sources  as  well  as 
from  the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses.  The  im- 
plication of  the  prologue  is  that  he  himself  was 
entirely  dependent  upon  written  and  oral  sources 
for  his  data.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  the  Muratorian  Fragment : 

Luke  the  physician,  after  the  ascension  of 
Christ,  when  Paul  had  taken  him,  as  it  were, 


Influences  that  Produced  the  Neiv  Testament    73 

as  a  follower  zealous  of  the  right,  wrote  the 
gospel  book  according  to  Luke  in  his  own 
name,  as  is  believed.  Nevertheless  he  had 
not  himself  seen  the  Lord  in  the  flesh,  and, 
accordingly,  going  back  as  far  as  he  could 
obtain  information,  he  began  his  narrative 
with  the  birth  of  John. 

His  many  literal  quotations  from  it  and  the  fact 
that  he  makes  it  the  framework  of  his  own, 
indicate  that  Mark's  Gospel  was  one  of  those 
earlier  attempts  to  which  he  refers. 

The  motive  which  influenced  Luke  to  write  Luke's 

,        ,  .     ,        T .  motive  in 

is  clearly  stated.  It  was  to  prepare  a  compre-  writing 
hensive,  accurate,  and  orderly  account  of  the 
facts  in  regard  to  the  life  of  Jesus  for  his  Greek 
friend  Theophilus,  who  had  already  been  par- 
tially instructed  in  the  same.  His  Gospel  con- 
firms the  implications  of  the  prologue.  It  is 
the  longest  and  most  carefully  arranged  of  all 
the  Gospels.  The  distinctively  Jewish  ideas  or 
institutions  which  are  prominent  in  Matthew 
are  omitted  or  else  explained;  hence  there  is 
nothing  which  would  prove  unintelligible  to  a 
Greek.  The  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
dedicated  to  the  same  patron,  is  virtually  a 
continuation  of  the  third  Gospel,  tracing,  hi  a 
more  or  less  fragmentary  manner,  the  history 


74      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

and  growth  of  the  early  Christian  Church,  and 
especially  the  work  of  Paul. 

Purpose  of  Very  similar  influences  called  forth  the  short- 
Gospel  est  and  undoubtedly  the  oldest  of  the  four  Gos- 
pels, the  book  of  Mark.  The  testimony  of  the 
contents  confirms  in  general  the  early  statement 
of  Papias  and  other  Christian  Fathers  that  it 
was  written  at  Rome  by  John  Mark,  the  disciple 
and  interpreter  of  the  apostle  Peter,  after  the 
death  of  his  teacher.  The  absence  of  many  Old 
Testament  quotations,  the  careful  explanation 
of  all  Jewish  and  Palestinian  references  which 
would  not  be  intelligible  to  a  foreigner,  the 
presence  of  certain  Latin  words,  and  many 
other  indications,  all  tend  to  establish  the  con- 
clusion that  it  was  written  for  the  Gentile  and 
Jewish  Christians,  probably  at  Rome,  and  that 
its  purpose  was  simply  historical. 

The  twofold      The  memoir  of  Jesus,  which  we  know  as  the 
thePGospel     Gospel  of  Matthew,  is  from  the  hand  of  a  Jewish 
of  Matt  ew   cjhrigftan  and,  as  is  shown  by  the  amount  of 
material  drawn  from   Mark's    Gospel,  must  be 
placed  at  a  later  date.     The  great  number  of 
quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  the  interest 
in  tracing  the  fulfilment  of  the  Messianic  pre- 
dictions, and  the  distinctively  Jewish-Christian 
point  of  view  and  method  of  interpretation,  in- 
dicate clearly  that  he  wrote  not  with  Gentile  but 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    75 

Jewish  Christians  in  mind.  Nevertheless,  like 
that  of  Mark  and  Luke,  his  purpose  was  pri- 
marily to  present  a  faithful  and,  as  far  as  his 
sources  permitted,  detailed  picture  of  the  life 
and  teachings  of  Jesus.  His  arrangement  of  his 
material  appears,  however,  to  be  logical  rather 
than  purely  chronological.  The  different  sec- 
tions and  the  individual  incidents  and  teachings 
each  contribute  to  the  great  argument  of  the 
book,  namely,  that  Jesus  was  the  true  Messiah 
of  the  Jews ;  that  the  Jews,  since  they  rejected 
him,  forfeited  their  birthright;  and  that  his 
kingdom,  fulfilling  and  inheriting  the  Old  Testa- 
ment promises,  has  become  a  universal  kingdom, 
open  to  all  races  and  freed  from  all  Jewish 
bonds.1  This  suggests  that  the  First  Gospel 
represents  a  more  mature  stage  in  the  thought 
of  the  early  Church  than  Mark  and  Luke. 

Its  title  and  the  fact  that  the  Church  Fathers  Origin  of 

IT    Matthew's 

constantly  connect  it  with  Matthew,  the  publi-  Sayings  of 
can,  and  later  apostle,  is  explained  by  the  state- 
ment of  Papias,  quoted  by  Eusebius : 

Matthew  accordingly  composed  the  oracles  in 
the  Hebrew  dialect,  and  each  one  interpreted 
them  as  he  was  able  (H.  E.,  iii.  89). 

1  Cf.  e.g.,  x.  5,  6;  xv.  24;  viii.  11,  12;  xii.  38-45; 
xxi.  42,  43;  xxii.  7;  xxiii.  13,  36,  38;  xxiv.  2;  xxviii. 
19. 


76      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

These  oracles  evidently  consisted  of  a  written 
collection  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus.  Since  they 
were  largely  if  not  entirely  included  in  our  First 
Gospel,  it  was  therefore  known  as  The  G-os- 
pel  of  Matthew.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the 
original  Matthew's  Sayings  of  Jesus  contained 
definite  narrative  material.  The  fact  that  the 
First  Gospel  draws  so  largely  from  Mark  for 
its  historical  data  would  indicate  that  this  was 
not  supplied  by  its  main  source.  The  Say- 
ings of  Jesus  was  probably  the  oldest  written 
record  of  the  work  of  Jesus,  for,  while  oral 
tradition  easily  remembers  incidents,  discon- 
nected teachings  are  not  so  readily  preserved  by 
the  memory.  Their  transcendent  importance 
would  also  furnish  a  strong  incentive  to  use 
the  pen.  It  was  natural  also  that,  of  all  the 
disciples,  the  ex-custom  officer  of  Capernaum 
should  be  the  one  to  undertake  this  transcend- 
ently  important  task. 

Aim  of  the  The  Fourth  is  clearly  the  latest  of  the  Gos- 
Gospel  pels,  f°r  it  does  not  attempt  fully  to  reproduce 
the  facts  presented  in  the  other  three,  but  as- 
sumes their  existence.  Its  doctrines  are  also 
more  fully  developed,  and  its  aim  is  not  simply 
the  giving  of  historical  facts  and  teachings,  but 
also,  as  it  clearly  states,  that  those  reading  it 
might  believe  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  son  of 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    77 


f,  and  that  believing  they  might  have  life  in 
his  name  (xx.  31).  The  motive  that  produced  it 
was,  therefore,  apologetic  and  evangelical  rather 
than  merely  historical. 

A  detailed  comparison  of  the  differences  be-  Review  of 
tween  the  Gospels,  as  well  as  of  their  many^^, 
points  of  likeness  which  often  extend  to  exact 
verbal  agreement,  furnishes  the  data  for  recon- 
structing their  history.  In  general  the  resulting 
conclusions  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
testimony  of  the  Church  Fathers.  Mark,  the 
shortest  and  more  distinctively  narrative  Gospel, 
is  clearly  the  oldest  of  the  four.  Possibly  it  was 
originally  intended  to  be  the  supplement  of  the 
other  early  source,  Matthew's  Sayings  of  Jesus, 
now  known  only  through  quotations.  These 
two  earliest  known  Christian  records  of  the 
work  of  the  Master  in  their  original  form  were 
the  chief  sources  quoted  in  the  First  and  Third 
Gospels.  So  largely  is  Mark  thus  reproduced 
that,  if  lost,  it  would  be  possible  from  these 
to  restore  the  book  with  the  exception  of  only 
a  few  verses.  But  in  addition,  Matthew  and 
Luke  each  have  material  peculiar  to  them- 
selves, suggesting  other  independent  written  as 
well  as  oral  sources.  To  such  shorter  written 
Gospels,  and  also  to  the  oral  testimony  of  eye- 
witnesses, Luke  refers  in  his  prologue.  In  the 


78      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Fourth  Gospel,  the  doctrinal  motive  already 
apparent  in  Matthew,  and  prominent  in  the 
Church  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  Chris- 
tian century,  takes  the  precedence  of  the  merely 
historical.  A  distinct  source,  the  personal  ob- 
servation of  the  beloved  disciple,  probably  also 
furnishes  the  majority  of  the  illustrations  which 
are  here  so  effectively  arrayed. 

Influences  More  complex  were  the  influences  which  pro- 
rfueecTiL  duced  the  single  example  of  the  third  type  of 
apocalypses  jjew  Testament  literature,  —  the  Apocalypse,  or 
Book  of  Revelation.  The  so-called  apocalyptic 
type  of  literature  was  a  characteristic  product 
of  later  Judaism.  The  Book  of  Daniel  is  the 
most  familiar  example.  Although  in  the  age  of 
scribism  the  voice  of  the  prophets  was  regarded 
as  silent,  and  the  only  authority  recognized  was 
that  of  the  past,  the  popular  Messianic  hopes  of 
the  people  continued  to  find  expression  anony- 
mously in  the  form  of  apocalypses.  In  the 
periods  of  their  greatest  distress  Jews  and 
Christians  found  encouragement  and  inspiration 
in  the  pictures  of  the  future.  Since  the  present 
situation  was  so  hopeless,  they  looked  for  a 
supernatural  transformation,  which  would  result 
in  the  triumph  of  the  right  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  rule  of  the  Messiah.  Underlying 
all  the  apocalypses  is  the  eternal  truth  voiced  by 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    79 

the  poet:  "God's  in  his  heaven  —  All's  right 
with  the  world." 

The  immediate  historical  background  of  the  Origin  of  the 

,         ,  .  Book  of 

Apocalypse  is  the  bitter  struggle  between  Revelation 
Christianity  and  heathenism.  Rome  has  become 
drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  (xvii.  6).  The  contest 
centres  about  the  worship  of  the  beast,  —  that 
is,  Caesar.  The  book  possibly  includes  older 
apocalypses  which  reflect  earlier  conflicts,  but 
in  its  present  form  it  apparently  comes  from  the 
closing  years  of  Domitian's  reign.  The  obvious 
aim  of  its  Jewish  Christian  writer  was  to  en- 
courage his  readers  by  glowing  pictures  of  the 
coming  victory  of  the  Lamb,  and  thus  to  steel 
them  for  unfaltering  resistance  to  the  assaults 
of  heathenism.  The  purpose  which  actuated 
the  writer  was  therefore  in  certain  respects 
the  same  as  that  which  led  Paul  to  write  his 
letter  to  the  persecuted  church  of  Thessalonica, 
although  the  form  in  which  that  purpose  was 
realized  was  fundamentally  different. 

Many  other  apocalypses  were  written  by  the  The  literary 
early  Christians.     The  one  recently  discovered  the  first  four 
and  associated  with  the  name  of  Peter  is  perhaps  centunes 
the  most  important.     Thus,  the  second  half  of 
the  first  century  after  the  death  of  Jesus  wit- 
nessed the  birth  of  a  large  Christian  literature, 


80      Origin  aiid  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

consisting  of  epistles,  gospels,  and  apocalypses. 
The  work  of  the  next  three  centuries  was  the 
appreciation  and  the  selection  of  the  books 
which  to-day  constitute  our  New  Testament. 
The  influences  which  led  to  this  consummation 
may  be  followed  almost  as  clearly  as  those  which 
produced  the  individual  books. 

Influences  Early  in  the  second  century  the  motives 
the  canoniza-  which  had  originally  led  certain  Christians  to 
Wlite  the  four  GosPels  induced  the  Church  to 
regard  those  books  as  the  most  authentic,  and 
therefore  authoritative,  records  of  the  life  and 
teachings  of  the  Master.  We  have  no  distinc- 
tive history  of  the  process.  It  was  gradual,  and 
probably  almost  unconscious.  The  fact  that 
three  of  the  Gospels  were  associated  with  the 
names  of  apostles  and  the  other  with  Luke,  the 
faithful  companion  of  Paul,  undoubtedly  tended 
to  establish  their  authority;  but  the  chief  canon- 
izing influence  was  the  need  of  such  records  for 
private  and  public  reading.  The  production, 
early  in  the  second  century,  of  spurious  gospels, 
like  the  Gospel  of  Marcion,  written  to  furnish  a 
literary  basis  for  certain  heretical  doctrines,  also 
the  desire  of  the  Church  Fathers  to  have  rec- 
ords to  which  they  could  appeal  as  authoritative 
hastened  the  formation  of  the  first  New  Testa- 
ment canon.  The  use  of  the  Gospels  in  the 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    81 

services  of  the  church,  which  probably  began 
before  the  close  of  the  first  Christian  century, 
by  degrees  gave  them  an  authority  equal  to  that 
of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  The  earliest 
canon  consisted  simply  of  these  four  books. 
They  seem  to  have  been  universally  accepted  by 
the  Western  Church  by  the  middle  of  the  second 
century.  About  152  A.  D.  Justin  Martyr,  in 
proving  his  positions,  refers  to  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Apostles  compiled  by  Christ's  apostles  and 
those  who  associated  with  them,  and  during  the 
same  decade  his  pupil  Tatian  made  his  Diates- 
saron  by  combining  our  present  four  Gospels. 

Meantime  the  natural  desire  to  supplement  The  second 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  by  those  of  the  Apostles  Ike  New 
led  the  Church  to  single   out   certain  of  the  Testament- 
epistles  and  associate  them  with  the  Gospels. 
Already    in    the    first    century    the    apostolic 
epistles  and  traditions  were  cherished  by  the 
individual  churches   to  which   they  had   been 
first  directed.     In  time,  however,  the  need  for  a 
written  record  of  the  apostolic  teachings  and 
work  became  widely  felt.     Hence,  by  the  end  of 
the    second    century,    Acts    and    the    thirteen 
Pauline   epistles,  First  Peter,  First  John,  and 
the  Apocalypse,  were  by  common  consent  placed 
side  by  side  with  the  Gospels,  at  least  by  the 
leaders  of  the  Western  Church. 
6 


82      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

The  di»-  Regarding  the  authority  of  the  remaining 
New  Testament  books,  Hebrews,  James,  First 
and  Second  John,  and  Jude,  opinion  long  re- 
mained undecided.  Concerning  them  an  earnest 
discussion  was  carried  on  for  the  next  two  cen- 
turies. By  certain  leaders  in  the  Church  they 
were  regarded  as  authoritative,  while  elsewhere 
and  at  different  periods,  other  books,  like  the 
Gospel  to  the  Hebrews,  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas, 
Clement's  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  Shep- 
herd of  Hermas,  and  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter, 
were  included  in  the  canon  and  even  given  the 
priority  over  the  disputed  books  later  included 
in  our  New  Testament. 

The  final  decision  represents  the  result  of  an 
open  and  prolonged  and  yet  quiet  consideration 
of  the  merits  of  each  book  and  of  its  claims  to 
apostolic  authority.  The  ablest  scholars  of  the 
early  Christian  Church  devoted  their  best  ener- 
gies to  the  problem.  Gradually,  thoughtfully, 
prayerfully,  and  by  testing  them  in  the  labora- 
tory of  experience,  the  Christian  world  separated 
the  twenty-seven  books  which  we  find  to-day  in 
our  New  Testament  from  the  much  larger  herit- 
age of  kindred  writings  which  come  from  the 
early  Christian  centuries.  Time  and  later  con- 
sideration have  fully  approved  the  selection  and 
confirmed  the  belief  that  through  the  minds  of 


Final  com- 
pletion of 
the  New 
Testament 
canon 


Influences  that  Produced  the  New  Testament    83 

consecrated  men  God  was  realizing  his  purpose 
for  mankind.  As  is  well  known,  at  the  Council 
of  Carthage,  in  397  A.  D.,  the  Western  world  at 
last  formally  accepted  them,  although  the  Syrian 
churches  continued  for  centuries  to  retain  a 
somewhat  different  canon. 

This  brief  historical  study  of  the  origin  of  our  Conclusion* 
New  Testament  has  demonstrated  twelve  Big-  study  of  the 
nificant  facts :  (1)  That  the  original  authors  of  JjgJ^ 
the  different  books  never  suspected  that  their  d»cedthe 

New  Testa- 

writings  would  have  the  universal  value  and  ment 
authority  which  they  now  rightfully  enjoy. 
(2)  That  they  at  first  regarded  them  as  merely 
an  imperfect  substitute  for  verbal  teaching  and 
personal  testimony.  (3)  That  in  each  case 
they  had  definite  individuals  and  conditions  in 
mind.  (4)  That  the  needs  of  the  rapidly  grow- 
ing Church  and  the  varied  and  trying  experi- 
ences through  which  it  passed  were  all  potent 
factors  in  influencing  the  authors  of  the  New 
Testament  to  write.  (5)  That  certain  books, 
especially  the  historical,  like  Luke  and  Matthew, 
are  composite,  consisting  of  material  taken 
bodily  from  older  documents,  like  Matthew's 
Sayings  of  Jesus  and  the  original  narrative  of 
Mark.  (6)  That  our  New  Testament  books 
are  only  a  part  of  a  much  larger  early  Christian 
literature.  (7)  That  they  are  unquestionably, 


84      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

however,  the  most  valuable  and  representative 
writings  of  that  larger  literature.  (8)  That 
they  were  only  gradually  selected  and  ascribed 
a  value  and  authority  equal  to  that  of  the  Old 
Testament  writings.  (9)  That  there  were 
three  distinct  stages  in  the  formation  of  the 
New  Testament  canon :  the  gospels  were  first 
recognized  as  authorative ;  then  Acts,  the  Apos- 
tolic Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse ;  and  last  of 
all,  the  complete  canon.  (10)  That  the  canon 
was  formed  as  a  result  of  the  need  felt  by  later 
generations,  in  connection  with  their  study  and 
worship,  for  reliable  records  of  the  history  and 
teachings  of  Christianity.  (11)  That  the  prin- 
ciples of  selection  depended  ultimately  upon  the 
intrinsic  character  of  the  books  themselves  and 
the  authority  ascribed  to  their  reputed  authors. 
(12)  That  the  process  of  selection  continued 
for  fully  three  centuries,  and  that  the  results 
represent  the  thoughtful,  enlightened  judgment 
of  thousands  of  devoted  Christians.  Thus 
through  definite  historical  forces  and  the  minds 
and  wills  of  men,  the  Eternal  Father  gradually 
perfected  the  record  of  his  supreme  revelation 
to  humanity. 


VI 

THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  OLD  TESTA- 
MENT PROPHETIC   HISTORIES 


VI 


THE   GROWTH    OF    THE   OLD  TESTA- 
MENT   PROPHETIC   HISTORIES 

VERT  similar  influences  were  at  work  in  pro-  Analogies 
ducing  and  shaping  both  the  Old  and  the  New  * 
Testaments;  only  in  the  history  of  the 


Scriptures  still  other  forces  can  be  distinguished,  two  Testa, 
Moreover,  the  Old  Testament  contains  a  much 
greater  variety  of  literature.  It  is  also  signifi- 
cant that,  while  some  of  the  New  Testament 
books  began  to  be  canonized  less  than  a  century 
after  they  were  written,  there  is  clear  evidence 
that  many  of  the  Old  Testament  writings  were 
in  existence  several  centuries  before  they  were 
gathered  together  into  a  canon  and  thus  crystal- 
lized into  their  final  form.  The  inevitable  re- 
sult is  that  they  bear  the  marks  of  much  more 
elaborate  editorial  revision  than  those  of  the 
New.  It  is,  however,  not  the  aim  of  the  present 
work  to  trace  this  complex  process  of  revision 
hi  detail,  nor  to  give  the  cumulative  evidence 
and  the  many  data  and  reasons  that  lead  to  each 
conclusion.  These  can  be  studied  in  any  modern 


88      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Old  Testament  introduction  or  in  the  volumes 
of  the  present  writer's  Student's  Old  Testament. 
The  present       In  their  present  form,  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  like  those  of  the  New,  fall  into  three 
classes-     The  first  includes  the  historical  books. 
In  the  Old,  corresponding  to  the  four  Gospels 
and  Acts  of  the  New,  are  found  the  books  from 
Genesis  through  Esther.     Next  in  order,  in  the 
Old,  stand  the  poetical  books,  from  Job  through 
the  Song  of  Songs,  with  which  the  New  Test- 
ament  has  no  analogy  except    the  liturgical 
hymns  connected  with  the  nativity,  preserved 
in  the  opening  chapters  of  Matthew  and  Luke. 
The  third  group  in  the  Old  Testament  includes 
the  prophecies  from  Isaiah  through  Malachi. 
Close  corre-       One  book  in  this  group,  Daniel,  and  portions 
betweenThc    °^  Ezekiel  and  Joel,  are  analogous  to  the  New 
Old  Testa-    Testament  Apocalypse,  but  otherwise  the  pro- 

ment  prophe-  J  * 

cits  and  the  phetic  books   correspond   closely  in  character 
ment  apoca-  and  contents  to  the  epistles  of  the  New.     Both 
epistles™     are  direct  messages   to  contemporaries  of  the 
prophets  and  apostles,  and  both  deal  with  then 
existing  conditions.     Both  consist  of  practical 
warnings,  exhortations,  advice,  and  encourage- 
ment.    The   form  is  simply  incidental.     The 
prophets  of  Jehovah  preached,  and  then  they  or 
their   disciples   wrote   down   the   words   which 
they  had  addressed  to  their  countrymen.    When 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories      89 

they  could  not  reach  with  their  voices  all  in 
whom  they  were  interested,  the  prophets,  like 
the  apostles,  committed  their  teachings  to  writ- 
ing and  sent  them  forth  as  tracts  (cf.  Jer.  xxxvi.). 
At  other  times,  when  they  could  not  go  in  per- 
son, they  wrote  letters.  Thus,  for  example,  the 
twenty-ninth  chapter  of  the  prophecy  of  Jere- 
miah opens  with  the  interesting  superscription : 

Now  these  are  the  words  of  the  letter  that 
Jeremiah  the  prophet  sent  from  Jerusalem 
unto  the  residue  of  the  elders  of  the  captiv- 
ity, and  to  the  priests,  and  to  the  prophets, 
and  to  all  the  people,  whom  Nebuchadrezzar 
had  carried  away  captive  from  Jerusalem  to 
Babylon;  by  the  hand  of  Elasah  the  son  of 
Shaphan,  and  Gemariah  the  son  of  Hilkiah, 
whom  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah  sent  unto 
Babylon  to  Nebuchadrezzar. 

If  it  were  not  for  this  superscription,  no  one 
would  suspect  from  the  nature  of  the  letter 
which  follows  that  it  was  anything  other  than 
a  regular  spoken  or  written  prophecy.  Its  con- 
tents and  spirit  are  exactly  parallel  to  those  of 
Paul's  epistles.  Undoubtedly  many  prophecies 
were  never  delivered  orally,  but  were  originally 
written  like  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
and  sent  out  as  circular  letters.  The  Baby- 


90      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Ionian  exile  scattered  the  Jews  so  widely  that 
the  exilic  and  post-exilic  prophets  depended 
almost  entirely  upon  this  method  of  reaching 
their  countrymen  and  thus  became  writers  of 
epistles. 
The  oldest  Like  the  Epistles  hi  the  New,  certain  of  the 

literature  .  — ~~~ 

poetry  prophecies, —  as,  for  example,  those  of  Amos, 
Hosea,  and  Isaiah,  —  are  among  the  earliest 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  in  the 
light  of  modern  biblical  study,  it  has  become 
apparent  that  prose  was  not  the  earliest  form 
of  expression  among  the  Hebrews.  In  this  re- 
spect their  literary  history  is  parallel  with  that 
of  other  early  peoples ;  for  first  they  treasured 
their  thought  in  heroic  song  and  ballad.  While 
they  were  nomads,  wandering  in  the  desert,  and 
also  while  they  were  struggling  for  the  posses- 
sion of  Canaan,  they  had  little  time  or  motive 
for  cultivating  the  literary  art.  The  popular 
songs  which  were  sung  beside  the  camp-fires, 
at  the  recurring  festivals,  and  as  the  Hebrews 
advanced  in  battle  against  their  foes,  were  the 
earliest  records  of  their  past.  There  is  evi- 
dence that  many  of  the  primitive  narratives 
now  found  in  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis 
were  also  once  current  in  poetical  form.  In 
some  cases  the  poetic  structure  has  been 
preserved. 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories      91 

The  earliest  collections  of  writings  referred  lsraeT$ 
to  in  the  Old  Testament  bear  the  suggestive  ^^ S<m9' 
titles,  The  Book  of  the   Upright  (i.  e.,  Israel), 
and,  The  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah.     From 
the  quotations  which  we  have  from  them  it  is 
clear  that  they  consisted  of  collections  of  songs, 
recounting  the  exploits  of  Israel's  heroes  and  the 
signal  victories  of  the  race. 

That  stirring  pasan  of  victory  known  as  the  The  Song  of 
Song  of  Deborah  was  perhaps  once  found  in 
the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah.  It  is  one 
of  the  oldest  pieces  of  literature  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  breathes  the  heroic  spirit  of  the 
primitive  age  from  which  it  comes.  Through 
the  eyes  of  the  poet  one  views  the  different 
scenes  in  the  mighty  conflict.1 

That  the  leaders  took  the  lead  in  Israel,  Exordium 

That  the  people  volunteered  readily, 

Bless  Jehovah ! 
Hear,  O  kings, 
Give  ear,  O  rulers. 
I  myself  will  sing  to  Jehovah, 
I  will  sing  praise  to  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel. 

Jehovah,  when  thou  wentest  forth  from  Seir,  Advent  of 

When  thou  marchedst  from  the  land  of  Edom,  Jehovah 

The  earth  trembled,  the  heavens  also  dripped, 
Tea,  the  clouds  dropped  water. 

1  The  translation  is  from  "  The  Student's  Old  Testa- 
ment," Vol.  I.,  pp.  320-323. 


92      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

The  mountains  quaked  before  Jehovah, 
Yon  Sinai  before  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel. 


Condition* 
before  the 
war 


In  the  days  of  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath, 

In  the  days  of  Jael,  the  highways  ceased  to  be  used, 

And  travellers  walked  by  round-about  paths. 

The  rulers  ceased  in  Israel,  they  ceased, 

Until  thou  didst  arise,  Deborah, 

Until  thou  didst  arise  a  mother  in  Israel. 


The  rally 
about  Deb- 
orah and 
Barak 


Then  the  people  of  Jehovah  went  down  to  the  gates, 

crying, 

"  Arise,  arise,  Deborah, 
Arise,  arise,  strike  up  the  song  ! 
Arise  Barak,  and  take  thy  captives,  thou  son  of  Abi- 

noam! " 

So  a  remnant  went  down  against  the  powerful, 
The  people  of  Jehovah  went  down  against  the  mighty. 
From  Ephraim  they  rushed  forth  into  the  valley, 
Thy  brother  Benjamin  among  thy  peoples, 
From  Machir  went  down  commanders, 
And  from  Zebulun  those  who  carry  the  marshal's  staff. 
And  the  princes  of  Issachar  were  with  Deborah ; 
And  Napthali  was  even  so  with  Barak, 
Into  the  valley  they  rushed  forth  at  his  back. 


The  cowards  By  the  brooks  of  Reuben  great  were  the  resolves ! 


who  re- 
mained at 
home 


Why  didst  thou  sit  among  the  sheepfolds, 

Listening  to  the  pipings  for  the  flocks  ? 

By  the  brooks  of  Reuben  there  were  great  questionings  1 

Gilead  remained  beyond  the  Jordan ; 

And  Dan,  why  does  he  stay  by  the  ships  as  an  alien  ? 

Asher  sits  still  by  the  shore  of  the  sea, 

And  remains  by  its  landings. 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories      93 

Zebulun  was  a  people  who  exposed  their  lives  to  deadly  The  battle 
peril,  and  defeat 

And  Napthali  on  the  heights  of  the  open  field.  'Canaanites 

Bless  Jehovah  ! 
Kings  came,  they  fought  ; 
Then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan, 
At  Taanach  by  the  waters  of  Megiddo  ; 
They  took  no  booty  of  silver. 
From  heaven  fought  the  stars, 
From  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera. 
The  river  Kishon  swept  them  away, 
The  ancient  river,  the  river  Kishon. 
O  my  soul,  march  on  with  strength  ! 
Then  did  the  horse-hoofs  resound 
With  the  galloping,  galloping  of  the  powerful  steeds. 

In  the  Book  of  the  Upright  is  included  that  David's 
touching   elegy   which   David    sang   after  the  Sauland 
death  of  Saul  and  Jonathan,  and  which  stands  Jonathan 
next  to   the   Song  of  Deborah  as  one  of  the 
earliest  surviving  examples  of  Old  Testament 
literature.1 


Weep,  O  Judahl 

Grieve,  O  Israel  ! 

_          '  .    .  . 

On  thy  heights  are  the  slain  I 

How  have  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

Tell  it  not  in  Gath, 

Declare  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon  ; 
Lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice, 
Lest  the  daughters  of  the  uncircumcised  exult. 


The  great- 

nef  °fthe 
calamity 


11  "  Student's  Old  Testament,"  Vol.  H.,  pp.  113,  111 


94      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa,  may  no  dew  descend, 
Nor  rain  upon  you,  O  ye  fields  of  death ! 
For  there  was  the  shield  of  the  mighty  cast  away, 
The  shield  of  Saul,  not  anointed  with  oil. 

Bravery  and  From  the  blood  of  the  slain, 
attractive-      ;prom  fog  fat  of  the  mighty, 
fallen     '        The  bow  of  Jonathan  turned  not  back, 
The  sword  of  Saul  returned  not  empty. 

Saul  and  Jonathan,  the  beloved  and  the  lovely  I 
In  life  and  in  death  they  were  not  parted ; 
They  were  swifter  than  eagles, 
They  were  stronger  than  lions. 

Saul's  ser-     Daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over  Saul, 

vices  to          Who  clothed  you  daintily  in  fine  linen, 

Who  put  golden  ornaments  on  your  garments,  [and  say  :] 
"  How  have  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  battle ! " 

David's  love  Jonathan,  in  thy  death  hast  thou  wounded  me ! 

for  Jona-       j  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan  1 
than 

Thou  wert  surpassingly  dear  to  me, 

Thy  love  to  me  was  far  more  than  the  love  of  woman  ! 

How  have  the  mighty  fallen, 
And  the  weapons  of  war  perished  I 

The  blessing  The  so-called  Blessing  of  Jacob  (Gen.  xlix. 
2-27)  is  a  poetical  delineation  of  the  strength 
and  weakness  of  the  different  tribes  of  Israel 
with  references  to  specific  events  in  their  his- 
tory. These  historical  allusions  suggest  that 
it  probably  comes  from  the  reigns  of  David 
and  Solomon,  when  the  tribes  were  for  the 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories      95 

first  time  all  united  under  a  common  rule  and 
had  passed  through  certain  of  the  experiences 
alluded  to  in  the  poem. 

The  Israelitish  race  was  supremely  rich  in  Israel's  heri- 

,  ,      .  taqe  of  oral 

possessing  not  only  many  ancient  songs,  but  traditions 
also  a  large  body  of  oral  traditions  which  had 
long  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son  or 
else  treasured  by  the  story-tellers  and  by  the 
priests  of  the  ancient  sanctuaries.  Many  of 
these  traditions  were  inherited  from  their  Se- 
mitic ancestors,  and,  in  the  light  of  recently 
discovered  Babylonian  literature,  can  be  traced 
back  far  beyond  the  days  of  Abraham  and 
Moses.  Some  were  originally  the  possessions 
of  certain  nomadic  tribes;  others  recorded  the 
early  experiences  of  their  ancestors  or  told  of 
the  achievements  of  early  heroes.  In  the  proc- 
ess of  continuous  retelling,  all  unnecessary  de- 
tails had  been  eliminated  and  the  really  dramatic 
and  essential  elements  emphasized,  until  they  at- 
tained their  present  simple,  graphic  form,  which 
fascinates  young  and  old  alike. 

The  superlative  value  of  these  varied  tradi-  Value  of 
tions  is  apparent.  They  were  the  links  which 
bound  later  generations  to  their  prehistoric 
past.  Incidentally,  in  the  characteristic  lan- 
guage of  Semitic  tradition,  they  preserved  the 
memory  of  many  important  events  in  their 


96      Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 


Influences 
that  led  to 
the  writing 
of  history 


early  tribal  history.  They  are  also  the  illu- 
minating record  of  the  primitive  beliefs,  cus- 
toms, and  aspirations  of  their  Semitic  ancestors. 
Subject  as  they  inevitably  were  to  the  idealizing 
tendency,  they  became  in  time  the  concrete  em- 
bodiment of  the  noblest  ideals  of  later  genera- 
tions. Thus  they  presented  before  the  kindled 
imagination  of  each  succeeding  age,  in  the  char- 
acter and  achievements  of  their  traditional  an- 
cestors, those  ideals  of  courage,  perseverance, 
and  piety  which  contributed  much  toward 
making  the  Israelites  the  chosen  people  that 
they  were. 

In  time  this  growing  heritage  of  traditions 
became  too  great  for  even  the  remarkable 
Oriental  memory  to  retain.  Meantime  the 
Hebrews  had  also  acquired  that  system  of 
writing  which  they  learned  from  their  more 
civilized  neighbors  the  Canaanites  and  Phoe- 
nicians. From  the  days  of  Solomon,  scribes 
were  to  be  found  in  court  and  temple,  and 
probably  among  the  prophetic  guilds ;  although 
the  common  people,  as  in  the  same  land  to-day, 
doubtless  had  little  knowledge  of  the  literary 
art.  While  the  nation  was  struggling  for.  the 
soil  of  Canaan,  or  enjoying  the  full  tide  of 
victory  and  achievement  that  came  under  the 
leadership  of  David,  there  was  no  time  or  in- 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories      97 

centive  to  write  history.  But  with,  the  quieter 
days  of  Solomon's  reign,  and  the  contrasting 
period  of  national  decline  that  followed  his 
death,  the  incentive  to  take  up  the  pen  and 
record  the  departed  glories  became  strong. 
With  a  large  body  of  definite  oral  traditions 
dealing  with  all  the  important  men  and  events 
of  the  earlier  periods,  the  task  of  the  histo- 
rian was  chiefly  that  of  writing  down  and  co- 
ordinating what  was  already  at  hand. 

The  oldest  Hebrew  history  that  has  been  pre-  The  early 
served  in  the  Old  Testament  was  the  work  of  an  phefich\*°' 
unknown  Judean  prophet  or  group  of  prophets  tory 
who  lived  and  labored  probably  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  ninth  century  before  Christ. 
This  history  corresponds  closely  in  relative  age 
and  aim  to  Mark's  graphic  narrative  of  the 
chief  facts  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  The  motive 
which  influenced  the  earliest  historians  both  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to  write  was  pri- 
marily the  religious  significance  of  the  events 
which  they  thus  recorded.  This  early  Judean 
prophetic  history  (technically  known  as  J)  be- 
gins with  the  account  of  the  creation  of  man 
from  the  dust  by  the  hand  of  Jehovah,  and  tells 
of  the  first  sin  and  its  dire  consequences  (Gen. 
ii.  4  to  iii.  24) ;  then  it  gives  an  ancient  list  of 
those  who  stood  as  the  fathers  of  nomads,  of 
7 


98      Origin  and  Value,  of  the  Old  Testament 

musicians  and  workers  in  metal  (Gen.  iv.  1, 
16b-26).  This  is  followed  by  the  primitive 
stories  of  the  sons  of  God  and  the  daughters  of 
men  (Gen.  vi.  1  -4),  of  Noah  the  first  vineyard- 
keeper  (ix.  20  -  27),  and  of  the  tower  of  Babel 
and  the  origin  of  different  languages  (xi.  1-9). 
In  a  series  of  more  or  less  closely  connected 
narratives  the  character  and  experiences  of  the 
patriarchs,  the  life  of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  and 
the  wilderness,  and  the  settlement  in  Canaan  are 
presented.  Its  basis  for  the  history  of  the  united 
kingdom  was  for  the  most  part  the  wonderfully 
graphic  group  of  Saul  and  David  stories  which 
occupy  the  bulk  of  the  books  of  Samuel.  Thus 
this  remarkable  early  Judean  prophetic  history 
begins  with  the  creation  of  the  universe  and 
man  and  concludes  with  the  creation  of  the 
Hebrew  empire. 

It*  unity  and  In  its  present  Old  Testament  form  it  has 
ti£ra<  '  been  closely  combined  with  other  histories,  just 
as  Mark's  narrative  is  largely  reproduced  in 
Matthew  and  Luke ;  but  when  it  is  separated 
from  the  later  narratives  its  unity  and  complete- 
ness are  astounding.  Almost  without  a  break 
it  presents  the  chief  characters  and  events  of 
Israel's  history  in  their  relations  to  each  other. 
The  same  peculiar  vocabulary,  the  use  of 
Jehovah  as  the  designation  of  the  Deity,  the 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories      99 

same  vivid,  flowing  narrative  style,  the  same 
simple,  naive,  primitive  conception  of  Jehovah, 
the  same  patriotic  interest  in  the  history  of  the 
race,  and  the  same  emphasis  upon  the  vital  reli- 
gious significance  of  men  and  facts,  characterize 
every  section  of  this  narrative  and  make  com- 
paratively easy  the  task  of  separating  it  from  the 
other  histories  with  which  it  has  been  joined. 

A  little  later,  sometime  about  the  middle  of  the  The  early 
eighth  century  before  Christ,  a  prophet  or  group  prophetic  * 
of  prophets  in  Northern  Israel  devoted  them-  kistory 
selves  to  the  similar  task  of  .writing  the  history 
of  Israel  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  northern 
kingdom.  Since  this  state  is  called  Ephraim 
by  Hosea  and  other  writers  of  the  North,  its 
history  may  be  designated  as  the  early  Ephraim- 
ite  prophetic  (technically  known  as  E).  Nat- 
urally its  author  or  authors  utilized  as  the  basis 
of  their  work  the  oral  traditions  current  in  the 
North.  Sometimes  these  are  closely  parallel, 
and  sometimes  they  vary  widely  in  order  and 
representation  from  the  Judean  versions.  In 
general  the  variations  are  similar,  although  some- 
what greater  than  those  between  the  parallel 
narratives  of  Matthew  and  Luke. 

Marked  peculiarities  in  vocabulary  and  literary  its  charac- 
style  distinguish  this  northern  history  from  the  ' 
Judean.     Since  Elohim  or  God  is  consistently 


100    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

used  to  describe  the  Deity,  it  has  sometimes 
been  called  the  JElohistio  history.  Interest  in- 
clines to  the  sanctuaries  and  heroes  and  events 
prominent  in  the  life  of  the  North.  In  that 
land  which  produced  a  Samuel,  an  Elijah,  an 
Elisha,  and  an  Hosea,  it  was  natural  that  espe- 
cial emphasis  should  be  placed  on  the  r61e  of 
the  prophet.  Throughout  these  narratives  he 
is  portrayed  as  the  dominant  figure,  moulding 
the  history  as  God's  representative.  Abraham 
and  Moses  are  here  conceived  of  as  prophets, 
and  the  Ephraimite  history  of  their  age  is 
largely  devoted  to  a  portrayal  of  their  prophetic 
activity. 

Its  scope  The  interests  of  later  editors  who  combined 
these  early  prophetic  histories,  as  we  now  find 
them  in  the  Old  Testament,  were  centred  in  the 
Judean,  and  hence  they  have  introduced  cita- 
tions from  the  Ephraimite  narratives  chiefly  to 
supplement  the  older  history.  Possibly  it  never 
was  as  complete  as  that  of  the  South.  At 
present  it  begins  with  Abraham  and  traces  the 
parallel  history  of  the  patriarchs  and  the  life  of 
the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  and  the  wilderness.  Its 
account  of  the  conquest  is  somewhat  fuller, 
probably  because  Joshua  was  a  northern  leader. 
It  also  preserves  many  of  the  stories  of  the 
heroes  in  the  book  of  Judges.  With  these  the 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories    101 

citations  from  the  early  Ephraimite  prophetic 
history  seem  to  disappear,  but  the  opening  stories 
in  the  book  of  Samuel,  regarding  the  great 
prophet  whose  name  was  given  to  the  book, 
apparently  come  from  the  pen  of  later  disciples 
of  this  same  Ephraimite  group  of  prophets. 

The  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  before  Christ  Later  editn- 

.  .  .       .  ....          rial  supple- 

were  penods  of  intense  prophetic  activity  both  in  meming  and 


the  North  and  the  South.  It  was  natural,  there- 
fore,  that  these  early  prophetic  histories  should  ™storie* 
be  supplemented  by  the  disciples  of  the  original 
historians.  Traditions  that  possessed  a  perma- 
nent historical  or  religious  value,  as,  for  exam- 
ple, the  familiar  story  of  Cain  and  Abel  (Gen. 
iv.  2  -  16),  and  the  earlier  of  the  two  accounts 
of  the  flood,  were  thus  added.  Also  when  in 
722  B.  c.  the  northern  kingdom  fell  and  its 
literary  heritage  passed  to  Judah,  it  was  most 
natural  that  a  prophetic  editor,  recognizing  the 
valuable  elements  in  each,  and  the  difficulties 
presented  by  the  existence  of  the  two  variant 
versions  of  the  same  events,  should  combine  the 
two,  and  furthermore  that,  in  the  days  of  few 
manuscripts,  the  older  originals  should  be  lost 
and  only  the  combined  history  survive.  To-day 
we  find  this  in  turn  incorporated  in  the  still 
later  composite  history  extending  from  Genesis 
through  SamueL 


Method  of 
combining 


Practical 
value  of  the 
rediscovery 
of  the  orig- 
inal his- 
tories 


102    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

The  later  editor's  method  of  uniting  his 
sources  is  exceedingly  interesting,  and  is  an- 
alogous in  many  ways  to  the  methods  followed 
in  the  citations  in  Matthew  and  Luke  from 
their  common  sources,  the  original  Mark  and 
Matthew's  Sayings  of  Jesus.  Where  the  two 
versions  were  closely  parallel,  as  in  the  account 
of  Jacob's  deception  of  his  father  Isaac,  or  the 
story  of  the  spies,  the  two  are  completely  amal- 
gamated; short  passages,  verses,  and  parts  of 
verses  are  taken  in  turn  from  each.  In  other 
cases  the  editor  introduced  the  different  versions 
—  as,  for  example,  the  two  accounts  of  the  flight 
of  Hagar — into  different  settings.  From  sub- 
sequent allusions  to  two  versions,  of  which  only 
one  survives  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  to  be 
inferred  that  sometimes  he  simply  preserved  the 
fuller,  usually  the  Judean.  As  a  rule,  however, 
there  is  clear  evidence  that  he  made  every  effort 
to  retain  all  that  he  found  in  his  original 
sources,  even  though  the  resulting  composite 
narrative  contained  many  inconsistencies. 

To  the  careful  student,  seeking  to  recover 
the  original  narratives  in  their  primal  unity, 
these  inconsistencies  are  guides  as  valuable  as 
the  fossils  and  stratification  of  the  earth  are  to 
the  geologist  intent  upon  tracing  the  earth's  past 
history.  Guided  by  these  variations  and  the 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories    103 

distinctive  peculiarities  in  vocabulary,  literary 
style,  point  of  view,  religious  conceptions,  and 
purpose  of  each  of  the  groups  of  narratives,  Old 
Testament  scholars  have  rediscovered  these  two 
original  histories ;  and  with  their  recovery  the 
great  majority  of  seeming  inconsistencies  and 
many  perplexing  problems  fade  into  insignifi- 
cance. Supplementing  each  other,  as  do  the 
earliest  Gospels,  these  two  independent  histories 
present  with  new  definiteness  and  authority  the 
essential  facts  in  Israel's  early  political,  social 
and  religious  life.  Like  eye-witnesses,  they 
testify  to  the  still  more  significant  fact  that 
from  the  first  God  was  revealing  his  character 
and  will  through  a  unique  race. 

A  third  survey  of  the  period  beginning  with  The  brief 
the  sojourn  in  Egypt  and  concluding  with  the phetic°~ 
conquest  of  the  east-Jordan  land  is  found  in  hlstory 
the  introduction  to  the  book  of  Deuteronomy. 
It  is  the  prologue  to  the  laws  that  follow,  ap- 
propriately and  effectively  placed  in  the  mouth 
of  the  pioneer  prophet  Moses.     A  comparison 
quickly  demonstrates  that  it  is  in  reality  a  brief 
summary  of  the  older  histories,  and  especially 
of  the  early  Ephraimite  prophetic.     Like  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew,  its  aim  is  not  merely  to 
present  historical  facts,  but  to  illustrate   and 
establish  a  thesis.     The  thesis  is  that  Jehovah 


104    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

has  personally  led  his  people,  and  that  when 
they  have  been  faithful  to  him  they  have  pros- 
pered, but  when  they  have  disobeyed  calamity 
has  overtaken  them.  The  message  is  distinctly 
prophetic ;  and  to  distinguish  this  third  history, 
which  was  probably  written  near  the  close  of  the 
seventh  century  before  Christ,  from  the  earlier, 
it  may  be  designated  as  the  late  prophetic  or 
Deuteronomic  history  (technically  represented 
by  D). 

Comparison  These  three  prophetic  histories  correspond 
strikingly  to  the  three  synoptic  Gospels:  Mark, 
Luke'  and  Matthew.  The  essential  differences 
in  their  literary  history  are  that  they  come, 
not  from  a  single  limited  group  of  writers 
and  a  brief  quarter  century,  but  represent  the 
work  of  many  hands  and  at  least  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  literary  activity.  Two,  at 
least,  of  these  histories,  are  no  longer  extant  in 
their  original  form,  but  only  as  they  have  been 
quoted  verbatim  by  later  historians  and  closely 
amalgamated.  Similiarly,  as  is  well  known, 
Tatian,  the  pupil  of  Justin  Martyr,  in  the 
middle  of  the  second  Christian  century,  did  for 
the  four  Gospels  precisely  what  an  Old  Testa- 
ment editor  did  for  the  two  early  prophetic 
histories,  —  he  combined  them  into  one  com- 
posite, continuous  narrative.  By  joining  pas- 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories    105 

sages  and  verses  and  parts  of  verses  taken 
from  the  different  Gospels,  by  omitting  verbal 
duplicates,  by  rearranging  in  some  cases  and 
by  occasionally  adding  a  word  or  phrase  to  join 
dissimilar  parts,  Tatian  produced  a  marvellous 
mosaic  gospel,  known  as  the  Diatessaron.  All  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel  is  thus  preserved,  and  most 
of  the  first  three.  So  successfully  was  the  work 
done  that  the  volume  was  widely  used  through- 
out the  Eastern  Church.  If,  as  once  seemed 
possible,  it  had  completely  supplanted  the  origi- 
nal four  Gospels,  the  literary  history  of  these 
would  have  been  a  repetition  of  that  of  the 
earliest  Old  Testament  records. 

It  is  very  important  to  note  that  the  motive  The  dom- 
which  led  the  prophetic  historians  to  commit  to  lofthe  m 
writing  the  earlier  traditions  of  their  race  was 
not  primarily  historical.  Like  the  author  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  they  selected  their  material 
chiefly  with  a  view  to  enforcing  certain  im- 
portant religious  truths.  If  an  ancient  Semitic 
tradition  illustrated  their  point,  they  divested 
it  of  its  heathen  clothing  and,  irrespective  of  its 
origin,  pressed  it  into  service.  For  example, 
it  seems  clear  that  the  elements  which  enter 
into  the  story  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  man's 
fall  were  current,  with  variations,  among  the 
ancient  Babylonians  centuries  before  the  He- 


106    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

brews  inherited  them  from  their  Semitic  ances- 
tors. The  early  prophet  who  wrote  the  second 
and  third  chapters  of  Genesis  appreciated  their 
value  as  illustrations,  and  made  them  the  me- 
dium for  imparting  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant spiritual  truths  ever  conveyed  to  mankind. 
Like  the  preachers  or  moral  teachers  of  to-day, 
the  first  question  the  prophets  asked  about  a 
popular  story  was  not,  Is  it  absolutely  historical 
or  scientifically  exact?  but,  Does  it  illustrate 
the  vital  point  to  be  impressed?  Undoubtedly 
Israel's  heritage  of  oral  traditions  was  far 
greater  than  is  suggested  by  the  narratives  of 
the  Old  Testament;  but  only  those  which  in- 
dividually and  collectively  enforced  some  im- 
portant religious  truth  were  utilized.  Just  as 
Jesus  drew  his  illustrations  from  nature  and 
human  life  about  him,  so  these  earlier  spiritual 
teachers,  with  equal  tact,  took  their  illustra- 
tions from  the  familiar  atmosphere  of  song  and 
story  and  national  tradition  in  which  their 
readers  lived.  A  secondary  purpose,  which 
they  obviously  had  in  view,  was  also  to  re- 
move from  certain  of  the  popular  tales  the 
immoral  implications  which  still  clung  to  them 
from  their  heathen  past,  and  to  reconsecrate 
them  to  a  diviner  end. 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories    107 

Questions  of  relative  date  and  historical  ac-  The  perm*- 
curacy  concern  the  historian,  but  they  should 
not  obscure  the  greater  value  of  these  narra- 
tives.  To  the  majority  of  us,  who  turn  to  the 
Old  Testament  simply  as  the  record  of  divine 
revelation  and  as  a  guide  to  life,  the  essential 
thing  is  to  put  ourselves  into  touch  with  these 
ancient  prophets,  who  taught  by  illustration  as 
well  as  by  direct  address,  and  ask,  What  was 
the  ethical  or  spiritual  truth  that  illumined 
their  souls  and  finds  concrete  expression  and 
illustration  through  these  primitive  stories? 
To  discuss  the  literal  historicity  of  the  story  of 
the  Garden  of  Eden  is  as  absurd  as  to  seek  to 
discover  who  was  the  sower  who  went  forth  to  sow 
or  the  Samaritan  who  went  down  to  Jericho. 
Even  if  no  member  of  the  despised  Samaritan 
race  ever  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  an  hypo- 
critical Levite  along  the  rocky  road  to  Jericho 
and  succored  a  needy  human  being,  the  vital 
truth  abides.  Not  until  we  cease  to  focus  our 
gaze  on  the  comparatively  unimportant,  can  we 
discern  the  great  spiritual  messages  of  these 
early  narratives. 

The  sequel  to  the  great  prophetic  histories 
which  underlie  the  Old  Testament  books,  from 


Genesis  through  Samuel,  is  in  the  books  of  ™>toriei 


108    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Kings.  These  cany  the  record  of  Israel's  life 
down  to  the  Babylonian  exile.  The  opening 
chapters  of  First  Kings  contain  the  conclusion 
of  the  Judean  prophetic  David  stories.  Fortu- 
nately the  rest  of  the  biblical  history  to  the  exile 
was  largely  compiled  from  much  earlier  sources. 
As  in  most  of  the  historical  writings,  the  later 
editors,  also,  quoted  verbatim  from  these  earlier 
records  and  histories,  so  that  in  many  cases  we 
have  the  testimony  of  almost  contemporary  wit- 
nesses. The  titles  of  certain  of  these  earlier 
books  are  given :  The  Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solo- 
mon,  The  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,  and 
The  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah. 
Earlier  A  careful  study  of  the  books  of  Kings  sug- 

iources  , ,  .  _  , 

quoted  by  gests  many  other  ancient  sources.  For  the 
reign  °f  Solomon,  state  annals,  temple  records, 
and  popular  Solomon  traditions  appear  to  have 
been  utilized.  The  graphic  account  of  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Hebrew  empire  was  probably  drawn 
from  an  early  Jeroboam  history.  In  the  latter 
part  of  First  Kings  appear  citations  from  an 
early  Ahab  history  and  a  group  of  Ephraimite 
Elijah  stories.  The  political  data  throughout 
First  and  Second  Kings  were  probably  drawn 
from  the  annals  of  the  northern  and  southern 
kingdoms.  Furthermore,  in  II  Kings  ii.-viii. 


The  Old  Testament  Prophetic  Histories    109 

appear  long  quotations  from  two  cycles  of  Elisha 
stories,  centring,  respectively,  about  the  ancient 
northern  sanctuary  of  Gilgal,  near  Shiloh,  and 
about  Samaria.  The  rest  of  the  book  includes 
citations  from  sources  which  may  be  desig- 
nated as  a  prophetic  Jehu  history,  temple  rec- 
ords, a  Hezekiah  history,  and  a  group  of  Isaiah 
stories. 

These  valuable  quotations  the  late  prophetic  Influence* 
editor  of  Kings  has  arranged  in  chronological  duced  thi$ 


order  and  fitted  into  a  framework  which  gives  p 
the  length  of  each  reign  and  the  date  of  acces-  ™ttory 
sion  of  the  different  kings,  according  to  the 
chronology  of  the  other  Hebrew  kingdom.  To 
this  data  he  adds  a  personal  judgment  upon  the 
policy  of  each  ruler,  thereby  revealing  his  pro- 
phetic spirit.  History  is  to  him,  as  to  every  true 
prophet,  a  supreme  illustration  of  fundamental 
spiritual  principles.  Clearly  the  influence  that 
led  him  to  compile  and  edit  his  great  work  was 
his  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  record  of 
Israel's  national  experience  as  a  whole  was  of 
deep  religious  import.  The  same  motive  un- 
doubtedly guided  him  in  the  selection  of  material 
from  his  great  variety  of  sources.  Only  that 
which  was  essential  was  presented.  Thus  he,  or 
a  later  editor  of  his  book,  traced  Israel's  remark- 


110    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

able  history  down  to  the  middle  of  the  Baby- 
lonian exile  (560  B.  c.),  and  completed  that 
wonderful  chain  of  prophetic  narratives  which 
record  and  interpret  the  first  great  chapter  of 
divine  revelation  through  the  chosen  race. 


VII 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE   PROPHETIC 

SERMONS,  EPISTLES,  AND 

APOCALYPSES 


VII 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PROPHETIC 

SERMONS,   EPISTLES,  AND 

APOCALYPSES 

To  understand  and  rightly  interpret  the  pro-  Real  char- 
phetic  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  it  is  nee-  a^s  "" 
essary  to  cast  aside  a  false  impression  as  to  the  Pr°Phett 
character  of  the  prophets  which  is  widely  preva- 
lent. They  were  not  foretellers,  but  forth- 
tellers.  Instead  of  being  vague  dreamers,  in 
imagination  living  far  in  the  distant  future,  they 
were  most  emphatically  men  of  their  own  times, 
enlightened  and  devoted  patriots,  social  and 
ethical  reformers,  and  spiritual  teachers.  Their 
characteristic  note  of  conviction  and  authority 
was  due  to  the  fact  that,  on  the  one  hand,  they 
knew  personally  and  distinctly  the  evils  and 
needs  of  their  nation,  and  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
their  minds  and  hearts,  ever  open  to  receive 
the  truth,  were  in  vital  touch  with  the  Infinite. 
Thus,  just  as  Aaron  became  Moses'  prophet  to 
the  people,  publicly  proclaiming  what  the  great 
leader  imparted  to  him  in  private  (Ex.  vii.  1,  2), 
so  the  Hebrew  prophets  became  Jehovah's  her- 
8 


114    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

aids  and  ambassadors,  announcing  by  word  and 

life  and  act  the  divine  will. 

Influences  While  the  historians  were  perfecting  their 
prophets  to  histories  certain  prophets  also  were  beginning 
"their  s™"  to  commit  tneir  sermons  to  writing.  The  oldest 


recorded  address  in  the  Old  Testament  is  prob- 
ably that  of  Amos  at  Bethel.  His  banishment 
from  the  northern  kingdom  under  strict  injunc- 
tion not  to  prophesy  there  (Am.  vii.  10-17)  may 
well  explain  why  he  resorted  to  writing  to  give 
currency  to  his  prophetic  message,  though  like 
Paul  in  later  days,  he  undoubtedly  regarded 
writing  as  an  inferior  substitute  for  the  spoken 
word.  Jeremiah  appears  to  have  preached 
twenty  years  before  he  dictated  a  line  to  his 
scribe  Baruch,  and  then  it  was  because  he  could 
not  personally  speak  in  the  temple  (xxxvi.  1-5). 
Sometimes  complete  sermons  of  the  prophets  are 
preserved,  but  more  often  we  seem  to  have  only 
extracts  and  epitomes.  In  some  of  the  prophetic 
books,  like  that  of  Jeremiah,  there  are  also  popu- 
lar reports  of  a  prophetic  address,  and  narrative 
sections,  telling  of  the  prophet's  experience. 
The  editing  Evidences  of  editing  are  very  apparent  in  the 
earlier  prophecies.  Sudden  interruptions,  and 
verses  or  clauses,  in  which  appear  ideas  and 
literary  style  very  different  from  that  of  the 
immediate  context,  indicate  that  many  of  the 


Prophetic  Sermons,  Epistles,  Apocalypses    115 

prophecies  have  been  supplemented  by  later 
notes,  some  explanatory  and  some  hortatory. 
Other  longer  passages  are  intended  to  adjust  the 
earlier  teaching  to  later  conditions  and  beliefs  and 
so  to  adapt  them  to  universal  human  needs  that 
they  are  not  limited  to  the  hour  and  occasion  of 
their  first  delivery.  Some  of  these  passages  come 
from  the  hands  of  disciples  of  the  prophets  and 
often  contain  valuable  additional  data;  others 
are  from  later  prophetic  editors  and  scribes.  A 
detailed  comparison,  for  example,  of  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  versions  of  Jeremiah  quickly  discloses 
wide  variations  of  words,  verses,  and  even  long 
passages,  added  in  one  or  the  other  text  by  later 
hands.  All  these  additions  testify  to  the  deep 
interest  felt  by  later  generations  in  the  earlier 
writings,  even  before  they  were  assigned  a  final 
place  in  the  canon.  It  is  one  of  the  important 
tasks  of  biblical  scholars  to  distinguish  the 
original  from  the  additions  and  thus  determine 
what  were  the  teachings  of  each  prophet  and 
what  are  the  contributions  of  later  generations. 

Many  of  the  later  additions  possess  a  value  The  back 
and  authority  entirely  independent  of  that  ]>Q^ 
sessed  by  the  prophet  with  whose  writings  they 
have  been  joined  by  their  original  authors  or 
later  editors.  Thus  the  sublime  chapters  ap- 
snded  to  the  original  sermons  of  Isaiah  contain 


116    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

some  of  the  noblest  teachings  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  different  themes  and  literary  style ; 
the  frequent  references  to  the  Babylonians,  not 
as  distant  allies,  as  in  the  days  of  Isaiah  the  son 
of  Amoz,  but  as  the  hated  oppressors  of  the  Jews; 
the  evidence  that  the  prophet's  readers  are  now 
exiles  far  from  Judah ;  the  many  allusions  to  the 
conquests  of  Cyrus,  —  all  these  leave  little  doubt 
that  chapters  xl.-lv.  were  written  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  Babylonian  or  the  first  of  the  Persian 
period.  Interpreted  in  the  light  of  this  back- 
ground, their  thought  and  teachings  become  clear 
and  luminous.  Similarly,  the  varied  evidence 
within  the  chapters  themselves  seems  to  indicate 
that  Isaiah  Ivi.-lxvi.  contain  sermons  directed  to 
the  struggling  Jewish  community  in  Palestine 
during  the  days  following  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple  in  520  B.  c. 

The  order  The  prophetic  sermons,  epistles,  and  apoca- 
'the  prophetic  typses  fall  naturally  into  five  great  groups.  The 
books  prophets  of  the  Assyrian  period  were  Amos  and 

Hosea,  who  between  750  and  734  B.  c.  preached 
to  Northern  Israel ;  also  Isaiah  and  Micah,  whose 
work  lies  between  740  and  680  B.  c.  Nahum's 
little  prophecy,  although  much  later,  echoes  the 
death-knell  of  the  great  Assyrian  kingdom  which 
for  two  or  three  centuries  dominated  south- 
western Asia.  The  prophets  of  Judah's  decline 


Prophetic  Sermons,  Epistles,  Apocalypses    117 

were  Zephaniah  (about  628  B.  C.),  Jeremiah 
(628-590),  and  Habakkuk  (609-605).  To  the 
same  period  belong  Ezekiel's  earlier  sermons, 
delivered  between  592  and  586,  just  before  the 
final  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The  prophets  of 
the  Babylonian  exile  were  Obadiah,  whose  origi- 
nal oracle  belongs  to  its  opening  years;  Eze- 
kiel  (xxv.-xlviii.),  who  continued  to  preach  until 
572  B.C.,  and  the  great  prophet  whose  death- 
less messages  ring  through  Isaiah  xl.-lv.  The 
prophets  of  the  Persian  period  were  Haggai 
and  Zechariah,  whose  inspiring  sermons  kept 
alive  the  flagging  zeal  of  those  who  rebuilt 
the  second  temple ;  the  authors  of  Isaiah  Ivi.- 
Ixvi. ;  the  author  of  the  little  book  of  Malachi ; 
and  Joel.  To  this  list  we  may  perhaps  add 
the  prophet  who  has  given  us  that  noble  pro- 
test, found  in  the  much  misunderstood  book 
of  Jonah,  against  the  narrow  and  intolerant 
attitude  of  later  Judaism  toward  foreigners. 

With  the  exception  of  Ezekiel,  Haggai,  Zech-  Growth  of 
ariah,  and  Joel,  all  the  prophecies  which  come  anoTapoca- 
from  the  centuries  following  the  fall  of  Jeru-  ^lc  lttera~ 
salem  in  586  B.  c.  are  anonymous.    The  worship 
of  the  authority  of  the  past  had  begun,  and  there 
is  evidence  that  the  belief  was  gaining  currency 
that  the  days  of  the  prophets  were  past.    Hence 
the  natural  tendency  to  resort  to  anonymous  au- 


The  histor- 
ical back- 
ground of 
the  book  of 
Daniel 


118    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

thorship  or  else  to  append  a  later  message  to  an 
earlier  prophecy.  Chapters  ix.-xiv.  of  the  book 
of  Zechariah  illustrate  this  custom,  —  chapters 
which  apparently  come  from  the  last  Old  Testa- 
ment period,  the  Greek  or  Maccabean.  The 
habit  of  presenting  prophetic  truth  in  the  highly 
figurative,  symbolic  form  of  the  apocalypse  also 
became  prominent  in  later  Judaism.  This  has 
already  been  noted  in  the  study  of  the  growth 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  is  illustrated  by  the 
book  of  Revelation.  It  was  especially  adapted 
to  periods  of  religious  persecution,  for  it  enabled 
the  prophet  to  convey  his  message  of  encourage- 
ment and  consolation  in  language  impressive 
and  clear  to  his  people,  yet  unintelligible  to 
their  foreign  masters. 

To  the  mind  of  one  who  has  carefully  studied 
the  book  of  Daniel  in  the  light  of  the  great 
crisis  that  came  to  the  Jews  as  a  result  of  the 
relentless  persecutions  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
between  the  years  169  and  165  B.  c.,  there  re- 
mains little  doubt  that  it  is  in  this  period  the 
wonderful  apocalypse  finds  its  true  setting  and 
interpretation.  The  familiar  examples  of  the 
heroic  fidelity  of  Daniel  and  his  friends  to  the 
demands  of  their  religion  and  ritual  were  su- 
premely well  adapted  to  arouse  a  similar  resist- 
ance toward  the  demands  of  a  tyrant  who  was 


Prophetic  Sermons,  Epistles,  Apocalypses    119 

attempting  to  stamp  out  the  Jewish  religion 
and  transform  the  chosen  people  into  a  race  of 
apostates.  The  visions  found  in  the  book  trace 
rapidly,  in  succession,  the  history  of  the  Baby- 
lonian, Median,  Persian,  and,  last  of  all,  the 
Greek  kingdoms.  The  culmination  is  a  minute 
description  of  the  character  and  reign  of  the 
tyrant  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (xi.  21-45).  He 
is  clearly  the  little  horn  of  chapter  viii.  But 
suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  the  account  of  the 
persecutions,  the  descriptions  become  vague  and 
general.  Nor  is  there  any  reference  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Maccabean  uprising;  instead,  the 
prediction  is  made  that  Jehovah  himself  will 
soon  come  to  establish  his  Messiah's  kingdom. 

The  inference  is,  therefore,  that  the  prophecy  Date  of 
,     '  ,   ,.      .      the  book 

was  written  a  short  time  before  the  rededication 

of  the  temple  in  165  B.C.  This  conclusion  is 
confirmed  by  many  other  indications.  For  ex- 
ample the  language,  in  part  Aramaic,  is  that 
of  the  Greek  period.  The  mistakes  regarding 
the  final  overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  empire, 
which  was  by  Cyrus,  not  Darius,  and  brought 
about  not  by  strategy,  but  as  a  result  of  the 
voluntary  submission  of  the  Babylonians,  are 
identical  with  the  errors  current  in  Greek  tra- 
dition of  the  same  late  period.  Here,  as  in  the 
early  narratives  of  Genesis,  a  true  prophet  has 


120    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

utilized  earlier  stories  as  effective  illustrations. 
He  has  also  given  in  the  common  apocalyptic 
form  an  interpretation   of  the  preceding  four 
centuries  of  human  history,  and  showed  how 
through  it  all  God's  purpose  was  being  realized. 
The   book   concludes   with   the  firm  assurance 
that  those  who  now  prove   faithful  are  to  be 
richly  rewarded   and    to  have   a  part   in    his 
coming  Messianic  kingdom. 
The  common      Thus,  from  the  minds  of  the  prophets  come 
the   earliest   writings    of    the   Old    Testament. 
They  consist  of  exhortations,  warnings,  messages 
°^   encouragement;5  or  else  stories   intended  to 
illustrate  a  religious  principle  or  to  present,  in 
concrete  form,  a  prophetic  ideal.     The  funda- 
mental motive   which   produced  them  all  was 
identical  with  that  which  led  the  disciples  and 
apostles  to  write  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  of 
the  New.     In  the  case  of  the  historico-prophetic 
writings,  like  Samuel  and  Kings,  the  desire  to 
inspire  and  mould  the  minds  and  wills  of  their 
readers  was  combined  with  the  desire  to  pre- 
serve in  permanent  form  a  record  of  the  events 
which,  in  their  national  history,  revealed  most 
clearly   Jehovah's   character  and   purpose.     In 
this  respect   they  correspond   perfectly  to  the 
Gospels  and  Acts  of  the  New  Testament.     It 
is  easy  to  see,  therefore,  that  kindred  aims  and 


Prophetic  Sermons,  JSpistles,  Apocalypses     121 

ideals  actuated  these  unknown  prophetic  writers 
and  their  later  successors,  Matthew,  Mark,  and 
Luke.  Their  literary  products  differ  only  be- 
cause their  subject-matter  is  different.  The  one 
group  records  Jehovah's  revelation  of  himself 
through  the  life  of  the  Messianic  nation,  the 
other  through  the  life  of  the  perfect  Messiah. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  in  conclusion,  that  The  New 
from   the   point   of   view  of   the    Old,   all   the 
literature  of  the  New  may  be  designated  as  pro-  thePr°p 

jo  r         writings 

phetic.  The  three  distinct  groups  of  writings 
found  in  the  New,  namely,  the  Gospels  and  Acts, 
the  Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse,  correspond 
exactly  to  the  three  types  of  prophetic  litera- 
ture found  in  the  Old :  the  historico-prophetical 
writings,  direct  written  prophecies,  and  apoca- 
lypses. If  the  final  canon  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment had  been  completed  before  the  days  of 
Josiah,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it 
also  would  have  contained  little  beside  pro- 
phetic writings.  In  divine  providence  it  was 
not  closed  until  seven  centuries  later,  so  that, 
as  it  has  come  to  us,  it  is  a  comprehensive 
library,  representing  every  stage  and  every 
side  of  Israel's  development.  It  is,  however, 
in  perfect  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  Master 
that  the  New  Testament  should  contain  sig- 
nificant facts  and  broad  principles  rather  than 


122    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

detailed  laws  or  even  the  songs  of  worship. 
He  whose  ideals,  teachings,  and  methods  were 
in  closest  harmony  with  those  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets,  naturally  begat,  through  his  immedi- 
ate followers,  a  group  of  distinctively  prophetic 
writings. 


VIII 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
EARLIER  OLD  TESTAMENT  LAWS 


vni 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
EARLIER  OLD  TESTAMENT  LAWS 

IP  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament  had  First  the 
remained  open  as  long  as  did  that  of  the  Old, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  it  also  would  have  eon- 
tained  many  laws,  legal  precedents,  and  eccle- 
siastical histories.  From  the  writings  of  the 
Church  Fathers  and  the  records  of  the  Catholic 
Church  it  is  possible  to  conjecture  what  these  in 
general  would  have  been.  The  early  history  of 
Christianity  illustrates  the  universal  fact  that 
the  broad  principles  are  first  enunciated  by  a 
great  prophetic  leader  or  leaders,  and  that  in  suc- 
ceeding centuries  these  new  principles  are  gradu- 
ally embodied  in  detailed  laws  and  ceremonials. 
Also  the  principles  must  be  accepted,  partially 
at  least,  by  the  majority  of  the  people  before 
the  enactments  based  upon  them  can  be  en- 
forced. This  important  fact,  stated  in  Old 
Testament  terms,  is  that  the  prophet  must  and 
always  does  precede  the  lawgiver. 


126    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Meaning  of  Torah,  the  common  Hebrew  word  for  law, 
word  for  comes  from  a  Hebrew  word  meaning  to  point 
out  or  direct.  It  is  probably  also  connected  with 
the  older  root  signifying,  to  cast  the  sacred  lot. 
The  torah,  therefore,  was  originally  the  decision, 
rendered  in  connection  with  specific  questions 
of  dispute,  and  referred  to  Jehovah  by  means 
of  the  sacred  lot.  Thus  the  early  priests  were 
also  judges  because  they  were  the  custodians 
of  the  divine  oracle. 

Origin  of         Here  we  are  able  to  trace,  in  its  earliest  He- 
bdiefmike   brew  form,  the  universal  belief  in  the  divine 

d0flaw  °Tigin  origin  of  the  law-  In  the  Primitive  laws  of 
Exodus  xxi.-xxiii.,  in  connection  with  a  case 
of  disputed  responsibility  for  injury  to  prop- 
erty, the  command  is  given :  the  cause  of  both 
parties  shall  come  before  (rod;  he  whom  God 
shall  condemn  shall  pay  double  to  his  neighbor 
(xxii.  8,  9).  In  ancient  times  all  cases  of  dispute 
were  thus  laid  before  God  and  decided  by  the  lot 
or  by  God's  representatives,  usually  the  priests. 
When,  in  time,  customs  and  oral  laws  grew  up 
on  the  basis  of  these  decisions,  a  similar  divine 
origin  and  authority  were  naturally  attributed 
to  them.  Individually  and  collectively  they 
were  designated  by  the  same  suggestive  term, 
torah.  When  they  were  ultimately  commit- 
ted to  writing,  the  legal  literature  bore  this 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      127 

title.  In  the  Hebrew  text  it  still  remains  as 
the  designation  of  the  first  group  of  Old  Testa- 
ment books  which  contain  the  bulk  of  Israel's 
laws. 

A  belief  in  the  divine  origin  of  law  was  Its  ultimate 
held  by  most  ancient  peoples.  In  connection 
with  the  tablet  which  records  the  laws  of  Ham- 
murabi, we  have  a  picture  of  Shamash  the  sun- 
god  giving  the  laws  to  the  king.  In  the  epilogue 
to  these  laws  he  states  that  by  the  command  of 
Shamash,  the  judge  supreme  of  heaven  and  earth, 
he  has  set  them  up  that  judgment  may  shine 
in  the  land.  The  statements  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment that  Jehovah  talked  face  to  face  with 
Moses  or  wrote  the  ten  words  with  his  finger 
on  tablets  of  stone  reflect  the  primitive  belief 
which  pictured  God  as  a  man  with  hands  and 
voice  and  physical  body ;  still  they  are  the  early 
concrete  statement  of  a  vital,  eternal  truth. 
Not  on  perishable  stone,  but  in  the  minds  of 
the  ancient  judges,  and  in  the  developing  ethical 
consciousness  of  the  Israelitish  race,  he  inscribed 
the  principles  of  which  the  laws  are  the  practical 
expression.  If  he  had  not  revealed  them,  there 
would  have  been  no  progress  in  the  knowledge 
of  justice  and  mercy.  The  thesis  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  of  Hammurabi  also,  is  funda- 
mentally true.  The  vivid  forms  in  which  both 


Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

expressed  that  thesis  were  admirably  fitted  to 
impress  it  upon  the  mind  of  early  man. 
Method  in         The  early  Israelitish  theory  of  the  origin  of 

which 

Hebrew  law  law  provided  fully  for  expansion  and  develop- 
ment to  meet  the  new  and  changed  conditions 
of  later  periods.  Whenever  a  new  question  pre- 
sented itself,  it  could  be  referred  to  Jehovah's 
representatives,  the  priests  and  prophets;  and 
their  torah,  or  response,  would  forthwith  become 
the  basis  for  the  new  law.  Malachi  ii.  6,  7  clearly 
defines  this  significant  element  in  the  growth  of 
Israel's  legal  codes :  the  torah  of  truth  was  in  the 
mouth  of  the  priest  .  .  .  and  the  people  should 
seek  the  torah  at  his  mouth.  Similarly  Haggai 
commands  the  people  to  ask  a  torah  from  the 
priests  in  regard  to  a  certain  question  of  cere- 
monial cleanliness  (ii.  11).  Until  a  very  late 
period  in  Israelitish  history,  the  belief  was  uni- 
versal that  Jehovah  was  ever  giving  new  deci- 
sions and  laws  through  his  priests  and  prophets, 
and  therefore  that  the  law  itself  was  constantly 
being  expanded  and  developed.  This  belief  is 
in  perfect  accord  with  all  historical  analogies  and 
with  the.  testimony  of  the  Old  Testament  his- 
tories and  laws  themselves.  Not  until  the  days 
of  the  latest  editors  did  the  tendency  to  project 
the  Old  Testament  laws  back  to  the  beginning 
of  Israel's  history  gain  the  ascendency  and  leave 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      129 

its  impression  upon  the  Pentateuch.  Even  then 
there  was  no  thought  of  attributing  the  lit- 
erary authorship  of  all  of  these  laws  to  Moses. 
This  was  the  work  of  still  later  Jewish  tra- 
dition. 

The  earliest  Old  Testament  narratives  indicate  Moses 
clearly  the  real  historical  basis  of  the  familiar  israelitish 
later  tradition,  and  vindicate  and  help  us  in  the  law 
effort  to  define  the  title,  Law  of  Moses.  The 
early  Ephraimite  narratives  describe  Moses  as 
a  prophet  rather  than  as  a  mere  lawgiver.  In 
Exodus  xviii.  they  give  us  a  vivid  picture  of 
his  activity  as  judge.  To  him  the  people 
came  in  crowds,  with  their  cases,  to  inquire  of 
God  (15).  In  16,  to  his  father-in-law  Jethro, 
he  states:  whenever  they  have  a  matter  of  dis- 
pute they  come  to  me,  that  I  may  decide  which  of 
the  two  is  right,  and  make  known  the  statutes 
of  God  and  his  decisions  (tdrdth).  Jethro  then 
advises  him  to  appoint  reliable  men,  gifted  with 
a  high  sense  of  justice,  to  decide  minor  cases, 
while  he  reserves  for  himself  the  difficult  ques- 
tions involving  new  principles.  The  origin  and 
theory  of  Israel's  early  laws  are  vividly  pre- 
sented in  Jethro's  words  to  Moses  in  verses  19, 
20 :  You  be  the  people's  advocate  with  God,  and 
bring  the  cases  to  God,  and  you  make  known  to 
them  the  statutes  and  the  decisions,  and  show 

9 


130    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

them  the  way  wherein  they  mutt  walk,  and  the 
work  that  they  must  do. 

Historical  It  appears  from  these  and  other  passages  that 
tradition  of  Moses*  traditional  title  as  the  father  of  Israelitish 
authors  A;  legislation  is  well  established.  As  a  prophet,  he 
proclaimed  certain  fundamental  principles  that 
became  the  basis  of  all  later  codes.  As  a  judge, 
he  rendered  decisions  that  soon  grew  into  cus- 
tomary laws.  As  a  leader  and  organizer,  he  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  later  political  and  institu- 
tional growth  of  the  nation.  Furthermore,  it  is 
probable  that  he  taught  the  people  certain  sim- 
ple commands  which  became  the  nucleus  of  all 
later  legislation.  Naturally  and  properly,  as 
oral  laws  subsequently  grew  up  and  were  finally 
committed  to  writing,  they  were  attributed  to 
him.  Later,  when  these  laws  were  collected  and 
codified,  they  were  still  designated  as  Mosaic, 
even  though  the  authors  of  these  codes  added 
many  contemporary  enactments  to  the  earlier 
laws.  Thus  the  traditions,  as  well  as  the  theory, 
of  Israelitish  law  fortunately  raised  no  barrier 
against  its  normal  growth.  It  was  not  until  the 
late  Jewish  period,  when  the  tradition  became 
rigid  and  unnatural,  that  the  rabbis,  in  order  to 
establish  the  authority  of  contemporary  laws, 
were  forced  to  resort  to  the  grotesque  legal 
fictions  which  appear  in  the  Talmud. 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      131 

The  earliest  Hebrew  laws,  like  the  traditions,  Evidences 
were  apparently  long  transmitted  in  oral  form.  i£8t  ;a^° 
The  simple  life  of  the  desert  and  early  Canaan  were  oral 
required  no  written  records.  Custom  and  mem- 
ory preserved  all  the  laws  that  were  needed. 
Also,  as  we  have  seen,  before  the  Hebrews  came 
into  contact  with  the  Canaanites  and  Phoenicians, 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  developed  the  literary 
art.  Instead,  they  cast  their  important  com- 
mands and  laws  in  the  form  of  pentads  and 
decalogues.  The  practical  aim  seems  to  have 
been  to  aid  the  memory  by  associating  a  brief 
law  with  each  ringer  of  the  two  hands.  The 
system  was  both  simple  and  effective.  It  also 
points  clearly  to  a  period  of  oral  rather  than 
written  transmission. 

The  nucleus  of  all  Israelitish  law  appears  to  The  earliest 
have  been  a  simple  decalogue,  which  gave  the 
terms  of  the  original  covenant  between  Jehovah 
and  his  people,  and  definitely  stated  the  obliga- 
tions they  must  discharge  if  they  would  retain  his 
favor.  The  oldest  version  of  this  decalogue  is 
now  embedded  in  the  early  Judean  narrative  of 
Exodus  xxxiv.  There  is  considerable  evidence, 
however,  that  it  once  stood  immediately  after  the 
Judean  account  of  Jehovah's  revelation  of  him- 
self at  Sinai,  and  was  transposed  to  its  present 
position  in  order  to  give  place  for  the  later  and 


132    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

nobler  prophetic  decalogue  of  Exodus  xx.  1-17. 
Its  antiquity  and  importance  are  also  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  it  has  received  many  later  in- 
troductory, explanatory,  and  hortatory  notes. 
Exodus  xxxiv.  28  preserves  the  memory  that  it 
originally  consisted  of  simply  ten  words.  The 
slightly  variant  version  of  these  original  ten 
words  is  also  found  in  Exodus  xx.  23,  xxiii.  12, 
15,  16,  18,  29,  30.  Furthermore,  it  probably 
once  occupied  a  central  position  in  the  corre- 
sponding Northern  Israelitish  account  of  the 
covenant  at  Sinai. 
The  oldest  With  the  aid  of  these  two  different  versions, 

decalogue       ^  Q£  ^   ^^  and   ^  Qf   fche   g^^  ^  .g 

possible  to  restore  approximately  the  common 
original : 

I.   Thou  shalt  worship  no  other  God. 
II.   Thou  shalt  make  no  molten  gods. 

III.  Thou  shalt  observe   the  feast  of  un- 

leaven  bread. 

IV.  Every  first-born  is  mine. 

V.   Six  days  shalt  thou  toil,  but  on  the 

seventh  thou  shalt  rest 
VI.   Thou  shalt  observe  the  feast  of  weeks 
and  ingathering  at  the  end  of  the 
year. 

VII.   Thou  shalt  not  offer  the  blood  of  my 
sacrifice  with  leaven. 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      133 

VIII.   The  fat  of  my  feast  shall  not  be  left 

until  morning. 

IX.   The  best  of  the  first-fruits  of  thy  land 
shalt  thou  bring   to   the   house   of 
Jehovah. 
X.   Thou   shalt  not  seethe  a  kid  in  its 

mother's  milk. 

These  laws  bear  on  their  face  the  evidence  Its  date 
of  their  primitive  date  and  origin.  They  define 
religion  not  in  the  terms  of  life,  as  does  the 
familiar  prophetic  decalogue  of  Exodus  xx.,  but, 
like  the  old  Babylonian  religion,  in  the  terms 
of  the  ritual.  Loyalty  to  Jehovah,  as  the  God 
of  the  nation,  and  fidelity  to  the  demands  of  the 
cult  is  their  watchword.  Their  antiquity  and 
the  central  position  they  occupy  in  Old  Testa- 
ment legislation  are  shown  further  by  the  fact 
that  all  of  them  are  again  quoted  in  other  codes, 
and  most  of  them  four  or  five  times  in  the 
Old  Testament.  Three  of  them  apply  to  agri- 
cultural life ;  but  agriculture  is  not  entirely  un- 
known to  the  nomadic  life  of  the  wilderness. 
Possibly  in  their  present  form  certain  of  these 
commands  have  been  adapted  to  conditions  in 
Canaan,  but  the  majority  reflect  the  earliest 
stages  in  Hebrew  history.  In  all  probability 
the  decalogue  in  its  original  form  came  from 
Moses,  as  the  earliest  traditions  assert,  although 


XXII 


134     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

comparative  Semitic  religion  demonstrates  that 
many  of  the  institutions  here  reflected  long 
antedated  the  days  of  the  great  leader. 
The  Judg-  Although  in  part  contemporary,  the  next 
Exodus  xxi.,  stage  in  the  development  of  Israelitish  law  is 
represented  by  the  civil,  social,  and  humane 
decalogues  in  Exodus  xx.  23  to  xxiii.  19. 
The  best  preserved  group  is  found  in  xxi.  1  to 
xxii.  20,  and  bears  the  title  Judgments,  which 
recalls  Hammurabi's  title  to  his  code,  The  Judg- 
ments of  Righteousness.  Like  this  great  Baby- 
lonian code,  the  Hebrew  Judgments  deal  with 
civil  and  social  cases,  and  are  usually  introduced 
by  the  formula,  If  so  and  so,  followed  by  the 
penalty  or  decision  to  be  rendered.  They  are 
evidently  intended  primarily  for  the  guidance 
of  judges.  The  parallels  with  the  code  of 
Hammurabi  are  many,  both  in  theme,  form, 
and  penalty,  although  there  is  no  conclusive 
evidence  that  the  Hebrew  borrowed  directly 
from  the  older  Babylonian.  Undoubtedly  many 
of  the  striking  points  of  resemblance  are  due 
simply  to  common  Semitic  ideas  and  institu- 
tions and  to  the  recurrence  of  similar  questions. 
But  on  the  whole,  the  Hebrew  laws  place  a 
higher  estimate  on  life  and  less  on  property. 
They  reflect  also  a  simpler  type  of  civilization 
than  the  Babylonian. 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      135 

When  three  or  four  obviously  later  additions  Their  ar- 
have  been  removed,  the  Judgments  are  found  to  anTcon" 
consist  of  five  decalogues,  each  divided  into  two  tents 
pentads  which  deal  with  different  phases  of  the 
same  general  subject.     They  are  as  follows : 

first  Decalogue :  The  Rights  of  Slaves. 

First  Pentad  :  Males,  Ex.  xxi.  2,  3a,  3b,  4, 5-6. 
Second  Pentad :  Females,  xxi.  7,  8,  9,  10,  11. 
Second  Decalogue :  Assaults. 
First  Pentad :  Capital  Offences,  xxi.  12,  13,  14, 

15,  16. 
Second  Pentad:  Minor  Offences,  xxi.  18-19,  20, 

21,  26,  27. 

Third  Decalogue:  Laws  regarding  Domestic  Ani- 
mals. 
First  Pentad :  Injuries  by  Animals,  xxi.  28,  29,  30, 

31,  32. 
Second  Pentad :  Injuries  to  Animals,  xxi.  33-34, 

35,  36;  xxii.  1,  4. 

Fourth  Decalogue :  Responsibility  for  Property. 
First  Pentad  :  In  General,  xxii.  6,  6,  7,  8,  9. 
Second  Pentad:  In  Cattle,  xxii.  10-11,  13,  14, 

15a,  15b. 
Fifth  Decalogue :  Social  Purity. 

First  Pentad :  Adultery,  Deut.  xxii.  13-19,  20- 

21,  22,  23-24,  25-27. 

Second  Pentad :  Fornication  and  Apostasy,  Ex. 
xxii.  16,  17,  18,  19,  20. 

Many  of   these  laws   anticipate    the   settled  Their  date 
agricultural  conditions  of  Palestine.     Society, 


186    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

however,  is  very  simple.  The  decalogue  and 
pentad  form  also  points  clearly  to  an  early 
period,  when  the  laws  were  transmitted  orally. 
Many  of  the  laws  probably  came  from  the  days 
of  the  wilderness  wandering,  and  therefore  go 
back  to  the  age  of  Moses,  in  some  cases  much 
earlier,  as  is  shown  by  close  analogies  with  the 
code  of  Hammurabi.  Although  in  their  present 
written  form  these  oral  Judgments  bear  the 
marks  of  the  Northern  Israelitish  prophetic  writ- 
ers who  have  preserved  them,  the  majority,  if 
not  all,  may  with  confidence  be  assigned  to  the 
days  of  David  and  Solomon. 
The  early  The  remaining  verses  of  Exodus  xx.  23  to 

humane  and 

ceremonial  xxin.  19,  contain  groups  of  humane  and  cere- 
monial laws.  In  the  process  of  transmission 
they  have  been  somewhat  disarranged,  but,  with 
the  aid  of  the  fuller  duplicate  versions  in  Deu- 
teronomy, four  complete  decalogues  can  be 
restored  and  part  of  a  fifth.  The  following 
analysis  will  suggest  their  general  character 
and  contents: 

HUMANE  AND  CEREMONIAL  LAWS 

First  Decalogue :  Kindness. 

First  Pentad :  Towards  Men,  Ex.  xxii.  21a,  22- 

23,  25a,  25b,  26-27. 
Second  Pentad:  Towards  Animals,  Ex.  xxiii.  4 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      137 

[Deut.  xxii.  1],  Deut.  xxii.  2,  3;  Ex.  xxiii.  5 

[Deut.  xxii.  4],  Deut.  xxii.  6-7. 
Second  Decalogue :  Justice. 
First  Pentad :   Among   Equals,    Ex.   xxiii.   la, 

Ib,  2a,  2b,  3. 

Second  Pentad :  On  the  Part  of  those  in  Author- 
•  ity,  xxiii,  6,  7a,  7b,  7c,  8. 
Third  Decalogue :    Duties  to  God. 
First  Pentad :  Worship,  Ex.  xx.  23a,  23b,  24,  25, 

26. 
Second  Pentad :  Loyalty,  Ex.  xxii.  28,  29a,  29b, 

30,  31. 
Fourth  Decalogue :  Sacred  Seasons. 

First  Pentad:  Command  to  Observe  them,  xxiii. 

10-11,  12,  15a,  I6a,  16b. 
Second  Pentad :    Method  of    Observing  them, 

xxiii,  17,  18a,  18b,  19a,  19b. 

Here  the  primitive  ceremonial  decalogue  has  Period  rep- 
been  expanded  into  the  third  and  fourth  group  I 
given  above.     Like  the  Judgments,  these  deca-  code* 
logues  bear  testimony  to  their  northern  origin, 
and  probably  they  also  have  had  much  the  same 
history,  although  their  relation  to  the  primitive 
decalogue  and  the  fact  that  they  are  prefixed 
and   added  to  the  solid  group  of  Judgments, 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  were  some- 
what later.      These  two  collections,   together 
with  their  older  prototype,  the  ancient  deca- 
logue,  represent  the  growth  of  Israel's  laws 


138    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

during  the  four  centuries  beginning  with  Moses 
and  extending  to  about  800  B.  c.  To  distin- 
guish them  from  later  collections  they  may  be 
designated  as  the  Primitive  Codes. 

The  need  The  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  before  Christ 
*  which  brought  to  the  Hebrews  great  crises  and 
revolutionary  changes  in  both  their  political  and 
religious  life,  witnessed  the  epoch-making  work 
of  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah.  This  re- 
markable group  of  prophets  proclaimed  so  many 
new  principles  that  a  fundamental  revision  and 
expansion  of  Israel's  primitive  codes  became 
necessary  in  order  to  adapt  the  latter  to  the 
new  needs  of  the  age.  The  reactionary  reign 
of  Manasseh  had  also  brought  out  plainly  the 
contrast  between  the  older  heathen  cults,  still 
cherished  by  the  people,  and  the  exalted  ideals 
of  the  true  prophets.  If  the  prophetic  teach- 
ings were  to  become  operative  in  the  life  of 
the  nation,  it  was  also  seen  that  they  must  be 
expressed  in  concrete  legal  enactments,  which 
could  be  universally  understood  and  definitely 
enforced. 

Application       Accordingly,  a  group  of  prophets,  disciples  of 

principles  to  the  older  masters,  and  inspired  by  the  spirit  of 

*the  peop£     reform,  devoted  themselves  to  this  all-important 

task.     The  results  of  their  work  are  represented 

by  the    prophetic    law-book   of    Deuteronomy. 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      139 

Through  its  pages  glow  the  new  ethical  teachings 
of  the  prophets  of  the  Assyrian  period.  The  ele- 
ments of  Hosea's  doctrine,  love  to  God  and  love 
to  men  and  kindness  to  the  needy  and  oppressed, 
in  their  new  setting  and  application,  make  it 
one  of  the  evangels  of  the  Old  Testament.  Its 
lofty  standards  of  justice  and  social  responsi- 
bility reflect  the  impassioned  addresses  of  Amos 
and  Hosea.  Since  the  new  laws,  as  a  whole, 
represented  the  practical  application  of  the  mes- 
sages of  the  prophets  to  life,  they  were  justly 
and  appropriately  placed  in  the  mouth  of  Moses, 
the  real  and  traditional  head  of  the  nation  and 
of  the  prophetic  order. 

A  comparison  of  this  prophetic  law-book  with  Relation  to 
the  older  primitive  laws  shows  that  the  latter  /a^ 
were  made  the  basis  of  the  new  codes,  since  most 
of  them,  in  revised  form,  are  also  found  in  Deu- 
teronomy.    The  prophetic  lawmakers,  however, 
in  the  same  spirit  that  actuated  Jesus  in  his 
attitude  toward  the  ancient  law,  freely  modified, 
supplemented,  and  in  some  cases  substituted  for 
the  primitive  enactments,  laws  that  more  per- 
fectly embodied  the  later  revelation. 

The  nature  of  the  reforms  instituted  by  Jo-  Promulga- 
siah,  according  to  II  Kings  xxil,  clearly  prove  date  of  the 
that  the  laws  which  inspired  them  were  those 
of  Deuteronomy,  and  that  this  was  the  law-book 


140    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

discovered  in  the  temple  by  Hilkiah  the  priest 
and  publicly  read  and  promulgated  by  the  king 
in  621  B.  c.  Originally  it  was  probably  prepared 
by  the  prophetic  reformers  as  a  basis  for  their 
work ;  but  it  incorporates  not  only  most  of  the 
primitive  codes,  but  also  many  other  ancient 
laws  and  groups  of  laws,  some  doubtless  coming 
from  the  earliest  periods  of  Israel's  history.  It 
also  appears  to  have  been  further  supplemented 
after  the  reformation  of  Josiah.  In  general  it 
represents  the  second  great  stage  in  Old  Testa- 
ment law,  as  it  rapidly  developed  between  800 
and  600  B.C.  under  the  inspiring  preaching  of 
the  remarkable  prophets  of  the  Assyrian  period. 
Their  his-  These  laws  represent,  in  many  ways,  the 
permanent  high- water  mark  of  Old  Testament  legislation. 
value  Every  effort  is  made  to  eliminate  that  which 

experience  had  proved  to  be  imperfect  in  the 
older  laws  and  customs.  The  chief  aim  is  to 
protect  the  rights  of  the  wronged  and  depend- 
ent. The  appeal  throughout  is  not  to  the  fear 
of  punishment  —  in  a  large  number  of  laws  no 
penalty  is  suggested  —  but  to  the  individual 
conscience.  Not  merely  formal  worship  is  de- 
manded, but  a  love  to  God  so  personal  that  it 
dominates  the  individual  heart  and  soul  and  finds 
expression  through  energies  completely  devoted 
to  his  service.  These  laws  required  strict  justice, 


Development  of  Old  Testament  Laws      141 

but  more  than  that,  mercy  and  practical  charity 
toward  the  weak  and  needy  and  afflicted.  Even 
the  toiling  ox  and  the  helpless  mother-bird  and 
her  young  are  not  beyond  the  kin  of  these 
wonderful  laws.  Under  their  benign  influence 
the  divine  principles  of  the  prophets  began  to 
mould  directly  the  character  and  life  of  the 
Israelitish  race.  The  man  who  lives  in  accord 
with  their  spirit  and  injunctions  to-day  finds 
himself  on  the  straight  and  narrow  way,  hal- 
lowed by  the  feet  of  the  Master. 


IX 

INFLUENCES  THAT  GAVE  RISE  TO 
THE  PRIESTLY  LAWS  AND 
HISTORIES 


IX 

INFLUENCES  THAT  GAVE  RISE  TO 
THE  PRIESTLY  LAWS  AND  HIS- 
TORIES 

THE  Babylonian  exile  gave  a  great  oppor-  influences 
tunity  and  incentive  to  the  further  develop-  "^t  e*™  * 
ment  of  written  law.  While  the  temple  stood.  duc*d 

written  cere* 

the  ceremonial  rites  and  customs  received  con-  mmicd  laws 
stant  illustration,  and  were  transmitted  directly 
from  father  to  son  in  the  priestly  families. 
Hence,  there  was  little  need  of  writing  them 
down.  But  when  most  of  the  priests  were 
carried  captive  to  Babylonia,  as  in  597  B.  c., 
and  ten  years  later  the  temple  was  laid  in 
ruins  and  all  sacrifice  and  ceremonial  wor- 
ship suddenly  ceased,  written  records  at  once 
became  indispensable,  if  the  customs  and  rules 
of  Israel's  ritual  were  to  be  preserved.  The  in- 
tegrity and  future  of  the  scattered  Israelitish 
race  also  largely  depended  upon  keeping  alive 
their  distinctive  traditions.  Torn  from  their 
altars,  the  exiled  priests  not  only  had  a 
10 


146    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

strong  incentive,  but  likewise  the  leisure,  to 
write.  The  ritualistic  zeal  of  their  Babylonian 
masters  doubtless  further  inspired  them.  The 
result  was,  that  during  the  Babylonian  exile 
and  the  following  century  most  of  the  cere- 
monial laws  in  the  Old  Testament  appear  to 
have  been  first  committed  to  writing. 
Eztkitl't  Even  Ezekiel,  the  prophet  of  the  early  exile, 
yielded  to  the  influence  of  his  early  priestly 
training  and  the  needs  of  the  situation.  In  572 
he  issued  the  unique  code  found  in  chapters 
xl.-xlviii.  of  his  prophecy.  It  provides  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and  defines  the  duties 
of  its  different  officials  and  the  form  of  ritual 
that  is  to  be  observed.  The  whole  is  intended 
primarily  to  emphasize,  through  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  sanctuary  and  the  forms  of  the  cere- 
monial, the  transcendent  holiness  of  Jehovah. 
Ezekiel  also  proclaims,  through  this  elaborate 
program  for  the  restored  community,  the  cer- 
tainty that  the  exiles  would  be  allowed  to 
return  and  rebuild  the  temple.  He  evidently 
reproduces  many  of  the  proportions  and  regula- 
tions of  the  first  temple,  but,  with  the  same 
freedom  that  characterizes  the  authors  of  the 
Deuteronomic  codes,  he  unhesitatingly  sets 
aside  earlier  usages  where  something  better  has 
been  revealed. 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories         147 

Ezekiel's  code  was  never  fully  adopted  by  the  Genesis  and 
later  Jews,  for  much  of  it  was  symbolic  rather  I 
than  practical ;  but  it  powerfully  influenced  sub-  Code 
sequent  lawmakers,  and  was  indicative  of  the 
dominant  tendency  of  the  day.  Even  before  he 
issued  his  code,  some  like-minded  priest  had  col- 
lected and  arranged  an  important  group  of  laws, 
which  appear  to  have  been  familiar  to  Ezekiel 
himself.  They  are  found  in  Leviticus  xvii.- 
xx vi.,  and  have  felicitously  been  designated  as 
the  Holiness  Code,  because  they  constantly  empha- 
size the  holiness  of  Jehovah  and  the  necessity 
of  the  people's  being  holy  in  thought  and  act. 
In  chapters  xvii.-xix.  most  of  the  original  laws 
are  still  arranged  in  the  decalogue  and  pentad 
form.  This  strong  evidence  that  they  had  been 
transmitted  by  word  of  mouth  from  a  much 
earlier  period  is  supported  by  their  contents. 
They  resemble  and  supplement  the  primitive 
laws  of  Exodus  xx.  23  to  xxiii.  19.  Many  of 
them  probably  came  from  the  early  periods 
of  Israelitish  history.  Most  of  the  laws,  like 
those  of  the  prophetic  codes  in  Deuteronomy, 
are  ethical  and  humane  rather  than  ceremo- 
nial. The  code,  as  a  whole,  is  a  remarkable 
combination  of  prophetic  and  priestly  teach- 
ing. It  marks  the  transition  from  the  age  of  the 
prophets,  represented  by  Deuteronomy,  to  that  of 


148    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

the  priests  and  ritual,  represented  by  the  priestly 
codes  proper.  Like  every  important  early  col- 
lection of  laws,  it  also  has  been  much  supple- 
mented by  later  editors;  the  original  Holiness 
Code,  however,  may  be  given  a  date  soon  after 
the  first  captivity  in  597  B.  c. 

The   influences   represented  by  Ezekiel  and 

codes 

the  Holiness  Code  have  given  us  the  remaining 
laws  of  the  Old  Testament.  These  are  found 
in  Leviticus  i.-xvi.,  xxviii.,  and,  excepting 
Exodus  xx.-xxiii.,  xxxiv.,  in  the  legal  sec- 
tions of  Exodus  and  Numbers.  They  deal 
almost  entirely  with  such  ceremonial  subjects, 
as  the  forms  and  rules  of  sacrifice,  the  obser- 
vation of  the  annual  religious  festivals,  and  the 
rights  and  duties  of  priests.  Many  of  them 
incorporated  laws  and  customs  as  old  or  older 
than  the  days  of  Moses.  An  early  and  impor- 
tant group,  technically  known  as  the  Priestly 
teaching  (Lev.  i.-iii.,  v.-vii.,  xi.-xv. ;  Num.  v., 
vi.,  xv.,  xix.  14-22),  is  repeatedly  designated  as 
the  torah  of  the  burnt-offering  (Lev.  vi.  9),  or  the 
torah  of  the  meal-offering  (vi.  14),  or  the  torah  of 
the  unclean  and  clean  beast  or  bird  (xi.  46,  47). 
It  is  evidently  based  upon  the  toroth,  or  deci- 
sions, rendered  by  the  priests  concerning  the 
various  ceremonial  questions  thus  treated.  The 
recurring  phrase,  according  to  the  ordinance, 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories         149 

probably  refers  to  the  fixed  usage  observed  in 
connection  with  the  first  temple. 

The  atmosphere  and  point  of  view  of  these  Their  dot* 
priestly  laws  as  a  whole  are  the  exilic  and  post- 
exilic  periods.  The  ritual  has  become  much 
more  elaborate,  the  position  of  the  priests  much 
more  prominent,  and  their  income  far  greater 
than  before  the  exile.  The  distinction  between 
priest  and  Levite,  which  was  not  recognized 
before  the  exile,  is  clearly  defined.  The  annual 
feasts  have  increased,  and  their  old  joyous  char- 
acter has  largely  disappeared  under  the  dark 
shadow  of  the  exile.  Sin-offerings,  guilt-offer- 
ings, trespass-offerings,  and  the  day  of  atone- 
ment (practically  unknown  before  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  in  586  B.  c.)  reflect  the  spirit  of  the 
later  Judaism  which  sought  to  win  Jehovah's 
favor  by  its  many  sacrifices.  Within  these 
priestly  codes  there  is  also  evidence  of  devel- 
opment. The  older  collections,  such  as  the 
priestly  teachings,  were  probably  made  early  in 
the  Babylonian  exile.  Others  represent  the 
gradual  expansion  and  supplementing  of  these 
older  groups,  the  process  apparently  continuing 
until  the  days  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra.  The 
whole,  therefore,  is  the  fruit  of  the  remarkable 
priestly  literary  activity  between  600  and  400 
B.  c.,  and  possibly  extending  even  later. 


150    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 


X)B.  c. 


Adoption  of  The  Jewish  community  which  Nehemiah 
found  in  Palestine  was  still  living  under  the 
Deuteronoraic  law,  and  apparently  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  very  different  demands  of  the  priestly 
codes.  His  reform  measures  recorded  in  Nehe- 
miah v.  and  xiii.,  as  well  as  his  effective  work 
in  repairing  the  walls,  prepared  the  way  for  the 
sweeping  innovations  which  followed  the  public 
acceptance  of  the  new  law-book,  brought  accord- 
ing to  tradition  by  Ezra.  Five  out  of  the  eight 
regulations  specified  by  the  oath  then  taken  by 
the  leaders  of  the  nation  (Neh.  x.  30-39)  are 
found  only  in  the  priestly  codes  ;  one  of  them, 
indeed,  is  not  presented  elsewhere  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Henceforth  the  life  of  the  Jewish 
race  is  moulded  by  these  later  codes.  It  is, 
therefore,  safe  to  conclude  that  they  consti- 
tuted the  essence  of  the  new  law-book  solemnly 
adopted  by  the  Jewish  community  as  its  guide 
somewhere  about  400  B.  c. 

Inasmuch  as  the  interest  of  the  priests  centred 
m  ceremonial  institutions  and  the  history  of  the 
\&\f  rather  than  about  individuals  and  politics. 
it  was  natural  that  they  also  should  write  their 
own  history  of  the  race.  Their  general  purpose 
was  to  give  an  introduction  and  setting  to  their 
laws.  As  might  be  anticipated,  this  priestly 
history  incorporates  the  traditions  of  the  lato 


Aim  and 


narratives 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories         151 

priestly  school,  and  therefore  those  current  long 
centuries  after  the  events  recorded  transpired. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  prophetic  narratives,  the 
aim  is  not  primarily  historical,  but  doctrinal. 
The  peculiar  vocabulary,  language,  and  theo- 
logical conceptions  are  those  which  distinguish 
the  post-exilic  priestly  editors  of  the  latest  Old 
Testament  laws. 

Their  history  begins  with  the  majestic  ac-  Their  sketch 
count  of  creation  in  Genesis  i.  1  to  ii.  4a.  God  history 
does  not  form  man  from  the  dust,  as  in  the 
primitive  prophetic  account,  but  by  a  simple 
word  of  command;  and  by  progressive  acts  of 
creation  he  realizes  his  perfect  plan,  which  cul- 
minates in  the  creation  of  mankind.  The  liter- 
ary style  is  that  of  a  legalist:  formal,  precise, 
repetitious,  and  generic.  The  ultimate  aim  of 
the  narrative  is  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Sabbath  back  to  the  creation. 
The  genealogical  history  of  Genesis  v.  connects 
this  account  of  creation  with  the  priestly  version 
of  the  flood  story  which  leads  up  to  the  covenant 
with  Noah.  The  priestly  genealogical  histories 
of  Genesis  x.  and  xi.  10-27  trace  the  ancestry 
of  the  Hebrews  through  Abraham.  Regarding 
this  patriarch  these  later  historians  present  only 
a  brief  sketch;  in  Genesis  xvii.,  however,  they 
expand  their  narrative  to  give  in  detail  the 


152    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

origin  of  the  rite  of  circumcision,  which  they 
associate  with  him.  Jacob  is  to  them  chiefly 
of  interest  as  the  father  of  the  ten  tribes. 
From  Egypt  The  history  of  the  experiences  of  the  Hebrews 
in  Egypt  is  briefly  outlined  as  the  prelude  to  the 
traditional  institution  of  the  feast  of  the  pass- 
over.  Sinai,  however,  is  the  great  goal  of  the 
priestly  narratives,  for  about  it  they  group  all 
their  laws.  It  is  their  concrete  method  of  pro- 
claiming the  antiquity  and  divine  origin  of  Israel- 
itish  legislation.  The  period  of  the  wilderness 
wandering  is  also  made  the  background  of  many 
important  legal  precedents.  The  priestly  his- 
tory concludes  with  an  account  of  the  conquest 
of  Canaan  and  the  allotment  of  the  territory  to 
the  different  tribes. 

The  lack  of  In  these  late  priestly  narratives  the  historical 
perspective  perspective  is  sometimes  considerably  shortened 
and  sometimes  lengthened.  Moreover,  their 
representation  often  differs  widely  from  that  of 
the  parallel  but  much  earlier  prophetic  histories. 
The  original  traditions  have  also  assumed  larger 
proportions,  and  the  supernatural  element  is 
much  more  prominent.  This  is  evidently  the 
result  of  long  transmission,  in  an  age  that  had 
largely  lost  the  historic  sense,  and  among  the 
priestly  exiles,  who  were  far  removed  from  the 
real  life  of  Palestine. 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories         153 


The  wide  variations  between  the  older  pro-  Variation* 
phetic  and  late  priestly  accounts  of  the  same 


ratives 


events   might  be  illustrated  by  scores  of  ex-  later  nar" 
amples.     The  following  parallel  account  of  the 
exodus  will  suffice  : 


Early  Judean  Prophetic 
Account 

Ex.  xiv.  19b.  Then 
the  pillar  of  cloud 
changed  its  position 
from  before  them  and 
stood  behind  them. 
(20b)  And  the  cloud 
lighted  up  the  night ; 
yet  throughout  the  en- 
tire night  the  one  army 
did  not  come  near  the 
other.  (2lb)  And  Je- 
hovah caused  the  sea  to 
go  back  by  a  strong  east 
wind  all  the  night,  and 
made  the  bed  of  the 
sea  dry.  (24b)  And  it 
came  to  pass  in  the 
watch  before  the  dawn 
that  Jehovah  looked 
forth  through  the  pillar 
of  fire  aud  of  cloud  upon 
the  host  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, (25)  and  he  bound 


Late  Priestly  Account 
of  the  Exodus 

(21a,  c)  Then  Moses 
stretched  out  his  hand 
over  the  sea,  and  the 
waters  were  divided, 
(22)  so  that  the  Israel- 
ites went  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea  on 
the  dry  ground;  and 
the  waters  were  a  wall 
to  them  on  their  right 
hand  and  on  their  left. 
(23b)  And  the  Egyp- 
tians went  in  after  them 
into  the  midst  of  the 
sea,  all  Pharaoh's  horses, 
his  chariots,  and  his 
horsemen.  (26)  Then 
Jehovah  said  to  Moses, 
Stretch  out  thy  hand 
over  the  sea,  that  the 
waters  may  come  again 
upon  the  Egyptian*^ 
upon  their  chariots  and. 


154     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 


Inferior  hit- 
torical  value 
of  the 
priestly 
narrative* 


their  chariot  wheels,  so 
that  they  proceeded 
with  difficulty.  Then 
the  Egyptians  said,  Let 
us  flee  from  before  Is- 
rael ;  for  Jehovah  fight- 
eth  for  them  against 
the  Egyptians.  (27b) 
But  the  sea  returned  to 
its  ordinary  level  toward 
morning,  while  the 
Egyptians  were  flying 
before  it.  And  Jehovah 
shook  off  the  Egyp- 
tians into  the  midst  of 
the  sea,  (28b)  so  that 
not  one  of  them  re- 
mained. (30)  Thus  Je- 
hovah saved  Israel 
that  day  out  of  the 
power  of  the  Egyptians; 
and  Israel  saw  the 
Egyptians  dead  upon 
the  sea-shore. 

No  one  can  doubt  for  a  moment  that  the 
older,  simpler,  and  more  natural  version  is,  from 
the  historical  point  of  view,  the  more  accurate. 
The  normal  man  to-day  has  outgrown  the  crav- 
ing for  the  grotesquely  supernatural.  The  om- 

i  "  Student's  Old  Testament,"  VoL  I.,  175,  176. 


their  horsemen.  (27a) 
So  Moses  stretched 
forth  his  hand  over  the 
sea,  (28a)  and  the 
waters  returned  and 
covered  the  chariots, 
and  the  horsemen,  even 
all  the  host  of  Pharaoh 
that  went  in  after  them 
into  the  sea.  (29)  But 
the  Israelites  walked 
upon  dry  land  in  the 
midst  of  the  sea,  the 
waters  being  a  wall  to 
them  on  their  right 
hand,  and  on  their  left.1 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories         155 

nipotent,  omniscient,  loving  Creator,  who  reveals 
himself  through  the  growing  flower,  commands 
our  admiration  as  fully  as  a  God  who  speaks 
through  the  unusual  and  extraordinary.  Every- 
thing is  possible  with  God,  and  the  man  is  blind 
indeed  who  would  deny  the  Infinite  Being, 
who  is  all  and  in  all,  the  ability  to  pass  beyond 
the  bounds  of  that  which  we,  with  our  extremely 
limited  vision,  have  designated  as  natural.  The 
real  question  is,  How  did  God  see  fit  to  accom- 
plish his  ends?  Our  judicial  and  historical 
sense  unhesitatingly  inclines  to  the  older  and 
simpler  narratives  as  containing  the  true  answer. 
In  distinguishing  these  different  strands  of  nar- 
rative, it  must  be  acknowledged  that  modern 
biblical  scholarship  has  performed  a  service  in- 
valuable alike  to  the  student  of  literature,  of 
history,  and  of  revelation. 

In  passing,  it  is  instructive  to  note  that,  almost  Recognition 
without  exception,  Ingersoll's  once  famous  ex-  defects  and 
amples  of  the  mistakes  of  Moses  were  drawn  real      e 
from  the  priestly  narratives.     It  is  safe  to  pre- 
dict that  had  that  learned  jurist  been  introduced, 
when  a  boy,  to  the  Old  Testament,  as  revealed 
in  modern  light,  he  would  have  enjoyed  a  very 
different  popular  fame.     In  the  divine  economy, 
however,  even  the   sledge-hammer  of  ridicule 
may  play  an  important  r6le  in  shattering  false 


The  eccle- 
siastical 
history  of 
Chronicles 
and  Ezra- 
Nehemiah 


156     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

claims  and  the  untenable  theories  which  obscure 
the  real  truth.  It  is  wholesome  to  apply  the 
principle  of  relative  values  to  the  Bible,  since 
one  cannot  fully  appreciate  the  best  without 
recognizing  that  which  is  inferior.  These 
priestly  narratives  come  from  a  school  which,  in 
its  reverence  for  the  form  and  the  letter,  had 
begun  to  lose  sight  of  the  vital  and  spiritual. 
Its  still  later  product  is  that  ritualistic  Judaism 
which  stands  in  such  unfavorable  contrast  to 
the  perfected  spiritual  revelation  which  came 
through  Jesus.  At  the  same  time,  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  defects  of  the  late  priestly  school 
should  not  deter  us  from  appreciating  the  rich 
religious  teaching  of  a  narrative  like  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  nor  from  accepting  its  great 
message,  namely,  that  through  all  natural  phe- 
nomena and  history  God  is  revealing  and  per- 
fecting his  gracious  purpose. 

The  long  ecclesiastical  history  found  in  I  and 
II  Chronicles  and  the  original  sequel  of  these 
books,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  were  written  from 
the  same  general  point  of  view  as  the  late 
priestly  narratives,  but  in  a  much  later  period. 
The  same  peculiar  literary  style  and  conceptions, 
which  recur  throughout  these  four  books,  show 
clearly  that  they  are  from  one  author  and  age. 
Since  they  trace  the  history  to  the  beginning  of 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories          157 

the  Greek  period  and  speak  of  the  kings  and 
events  of  the  Persian  period  as  if  they  belonged 
to  the  distant  past,  it  is  evident  that  the  anony- 
mous author,  who  is  usually  designated  as  the 
Chronicler,  lived  after  the  conquests  of  Alex- 
ander. The  internal  evidence  all  points  to  the 
middle  of  the  third  century  before  Christ  as  the 
date  of  their  composition. 

From   the   author's   evident   interest  in   the  Its  general 

.,,„,,  ,  ,  .    ,,      .,  point  of  view 

ritual  of  the  temple,  and  especially  its  song  ser- 
vice, it  would  appear  that  he  belonged  to  one 
of  the  guilds  of  temple  singers  that  became 
prominent  in  the  post-exilic  period.  His  his- 
tory centres  about  the  sanctuary  and  its  ser- 
vices. Since  Judah,  not  Israel,  is  the  land  of 
the  temple,  Northern  Israel  is  almost  completely 
ignored.  Like  the  late  priestly  historians,  his 
chief  aim  is  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  cere- 
monial institutions  back  to  the  beginnings  of 
Hebrew  history.  Thus  he  represents  the  song 
service  and  the  guilds  of  singers  as  having 
been  established  in  the  days  of  David.  Living 
as  he  did  under  the  glamour  of  the  great  Per- 
sian and  Greek  empires,  he,  in  common  with 
his  contemporaries,  idealized  the  past  glories  of 
his  race.  As  we  compare  his  versions  of  early 
events  with  the  older  parallel  accounts  of  Samuel 
and  Kings,  we  find  that  iron  has  become  gold, 


Sources  of 
I  and  II 


158    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

and  hundreds  have  become  thousands,  and  de- 
feats are  transformed  into  victories.  No  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  crimes  of  such  kings  as 
David  and  Solomon,  tdnce  they  are  venerated 
profoundly  as  the  founders  of  the  temple. 

The  basis  of  I  and  II  Chronicles  is  the  pro- 
Chronide*  phetic  history  of  Samuel  and  Kings ;  from  these 
the  author  quotes  verbatim  chapter  after  chap- 
ter, according  as  their  contents  are  adapted  to 
his  purpose.  This  groundwork  he  supplements 
by  introducing  the  priestly  traditions  current  in 
his  own  day.  Possibly  he  quotes  also  from  cer- 
tain somewhat  earlier  written  collections  of  tra- 
ditions, for  to  those,  following  the  example  of 
the  author  of  Kings,  he  frequently  refers  his 
readers  for  further  information.  In  some  cases 
these  later  traditions  may  have  preserved  au- 
thentic, supplemental  data;  but  when  the  rep- 
resentation of  Chronicles  differs,  as  it  frequently 
does,  from  that  of  Samuel  and  Kings,  the  older 
and  more  sober  prophetic  history  is  undoubtedly 
to  be  followed. 

In  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  the  author  has  pre- 
served some  exceedingly  valuable  historical 
material,  for  he  has  quoted,  fortunately,  long 
sections  from  two  or  three  older  sources. 
One  is  the  document  in  Ezra  iv.  7  to  vi.  14, 
the  original  Aramaic  of  which  is  retained. 


The  older 
sources 
quoted  in 
Ezra- 
Nehemiah 


The  Priestly  Laws  and  Histories         159 

This  appears  to  have  been  a  temple  record,  dat- 
ing from  the  middle  or  latter  part  of  the  Persian 
period,  and  tells  of  the  interruption  of  the 
temple  building  in  the  days  of  Darius  and  the 
finding  of  the  original  decree  of  Cyrus  sanc- 
tioning the  restoration  of  the  shrine  of  Jerusa- 
lem. Still  more  important  is  the  wonderful 
memoir  of  Nehemiah  quoted  in  Nehemiah  i., 
ii.,  iv.  to  vii.  5,  xii.  31,  32,  37-40,  and  xiii.  4-31. 
Here  we  are  able  to  study  the  events  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly important  period  through  the  eyes 
of  the  man  who,  by  his  able  and  self-sacrific- 
ing efforts,  did  more  than  any  one  else  to  de- 
velop and  shape  later  Judaism.  Less  important, 
yet  suggestive,  citations  are  taken  from  the 
priestly  traditions  regarding  the  work  of  Ezra. 
The  final  editor  has  apparently  rearranged  this 
material  in  order  to  give  to  the  work  of  Ezra  the 
scribe  such  precedence  over  that  of  Nehemiah 
the  layman,  as,  from  his  later  Levitical  point 
of  view,  he  deemed  proper.  Restoring  what 
seems  to  have  been  the  original  order  (i.  e., 
Ezra  vii.  viii.,  Neh.  vii.  70  to  viii.  18;  Ezra  ix., 
x. :  Neh.  ix.,  x.)  and  studying  it  as  the  se- 
quel of  Nehemiah's  essential  pioneer  work, 
the  obscurities  of  this  period  begin  to  disap- 
pear and  its  significant  facts  to  stand  out  in 
clear  relief. 


160    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Value  of  the  Thus  we  find  that,  quoting  largely  as  he  does, 
"hepnestlu  from  much  older  sources,  the  author  of  this  great 
school  ecclesiastical  history  of  Judah  and  the  temple 
has  given  us,  in  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  some 
exceedingly  important  historical  data.  His  writ- 
ings also  clearly  reveal  the  ideas  and  institu- 
tions of  his  own  day;  but  otherwise  it  is  not  as 
history  that  his  work  is  of  permanent  value. 
Rather  it  is  because,  in  common  with  all  the 
great  teachers  who  speak  to  us  through  the  Old 
Testament,  he  believed  firmly  in  the  moral  order 
of  the  universe,  and  that  back  of  all  events 
and  all  history  is  an  infinitely  powerful  yet  just 
and  merciful  God  who  is  constantly  revealing 
himself  to  mankind.  While  these  later  priestly 
writers  were  not  in  such  close  touch  with  fact 
and  life  as  were  the  prophets,  and  while  they 
were  subject  to  the  defects  of  all  extreme  ritu- 
alists and  theologians,  they  were  faithful  her- 
alds of  truth  to  their  own  and  later  generations. 
Behind  their  symbolism  and  traditions  lie  cer- 
tain great  universal  principles  which  amply 
reward  an  earnest  quest. 


THE   HEBREW    SAGES   AND    THEIR 
PROVERBS 


THE  HEBREW  SAGES  AND  THEIR 
PROVERBS 

IN  the  days  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  (Jer.  Role  of  the 
xviii.  18;  Ezek.  vii.  26)  three  distinct  classes 
of  religious  teachers  were  recognized  by  the  ll 
people:  the  prophets,  the  priests,  and  the  wise 
men  or  sages.  From  their  lips  and  pens  have 
come  practically  all  the  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Of  these  three  classes  the  wise 
men  or  sages  are  far  less  prominent  or  well 
known.  They  wrote  no  history  of  Israel,  they 
preached  no  public  sermons,  nor  do  they  appear 
to  have  been  connected  with  any  sanctuaries. 
Quietly,  as  private  teachers,  they  appealed  to 
the  nation  through  the  consciences  and  wills  of 
individuals.  Proverbs  viii.  1-5  reveals  their 
methods : 

Doth  not  wisdom  cry, 

And  understanding  put  forth  her  voice? 

On  the  top  of  high  places  by  the  way, 

Where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth ; 

Beside  the  gates,  at  the  entry  of  the  city, 

At  the  coming  in  at  the  doors,  she  crieth  aloud  : 


164    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Unto  you,  O  men,  I  call  ; 

And  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  men. 

O  ye  simple,  understand  prudence  ; 

And  ye  fools,  be  of  an  understanding  heart. 

At  the  open  spaces  beside  the  city  gates, 
where  legal  cases  were  tried,  at  the  intersec- 
tions of  the  streets,  wherever  men  congregated, 
the  sages  of  ancient  Israel  could  be  found,  ready 
and  eager  to  instruct  or  advise  the  inexperi- 
enced and  foolish. 

Their  func-  The  wise  man  or  sage  is  a  characteristic 
Oriental  figure.  First  Kings  iv.  30  speaks  of 
the  far-famed  wisdom  of  the  nomadic  tribes  of 
northern  Arabia  and  of  the  wisdom  of  Egypt. 
The  sage  appears  to  have  been  the  product  of 
the  early  nomadic  Semitic  life,  in  which  books 
were  unknown  and  the  practical  wisdom  gained 
by  experience  was  treasured  in  the  minds  of 
certain  men  who  were  called  the  wise  or  sages. 
In  our  more  complex  western  life  such  func- 
tions have  been  distributed  among  the  members 
of  the  legal,  medical,  and  clerical  professions, 
but  even  now,  in  smaller  towns,  may  be  found 
an  Uncle  Toby  who  is  the  counterpart  of  the 
ancient  Hebrew  sage.  To  men  of  this  type 
young  and  old  resort  with  their  private  prob- 
lems, and  rarely  return  without  receiving  real 
help  and  light.  In  the  East,  sages  are  still  to 


Hebrew  Sages  and  their  Proverbs         165 

be  found,  usually  gray-bearded  elders,  honored 
and  influential  in  the  tribe  or  town. 

Of  the  three  classes  of  Israel's  teachers  the  Source  of 
sages  stood  in  closest  touch  with  the  people.  ecige  anT 
They  were  naturally  the  father-confessors   of  in'sPiration 
the  community.     Observation  was  their  guide, 
enlightened  common  sense  their  interpreter,  and 
experience  their  teacher.     The  great  book  of 
human  life,  which  is  one  of   the  most  impor- 
tant chapters  of  divine  revelation,  was  thrown 
open  wide  before  them.     The  truths  that  they 
read  there,  as  their  eyes  were  divinely  opened 
to  see  it,  are  recorded  in  the  wisdom  books  of  the 
Old  Testament,  —  Proverbs,  Job,  The  Song  of 
Songs,  and  Ecclesiastes. 

It  is  significant  that  neither  Israel  nor  the  The  object* 
nation  is  mentioned  in  all  the  wisdom  litera-  attention 
ture,  and  that  man  is  spoken  of  thirty-three 
times  in  the  book  of  Proverbs  alone.  Man  was 
the  object  of  their  study  and  teaching;  the 
nation,  only  as  it  was  made  up  of  individuals. 
In  this  respect  the  sages  stand  in  contrast  with 
the  prophets,  whose  message  usually  is  to  the 
nation.  They  also  have  little  to  say  about  the 
ritual  or  the  forms  of  religion.  To  them  the 
fear  and  knowledge  of  God  is  the  beginning  of 
wisdom,  and  its  end  a  normal  relation  to  God, 
to  one's  fellowmen,  and  to  life.  Their  message 


166    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

is  directed  equally  to  all  mankind.  The  sub- 
jects that  command  their  attention  are  of  uni- 
versal interest:  the  nature  and  tendencies  of 
man,  and  his  relations  and  duties  to  God,  to 
society,  to  the  family,  and  to  himself.  Every- 
thing that  concerns  man,  whether  it  be  the  till- 
ing of  the  soil,  the  choice  of  a  wife,  the  conduct 
of  a  lawsuit,  or  the  proper  deportment  in  the 
presence  of  a  ruler,  commands  their  earnest 
consideration. 

Their  aims  The  Hebrew  sages,  however,  were  not  mere 
'rai  lut°retl'  students  of  human  nature  or  philosophers. 
practical  Knowledge  to  them  was  not  an  end  in  itself, 
but  only  a  means.  Their  contribution  to 
Israel's  life  was  counsel  (Jer.  xviii.  18). 
Their  aim  was,  by  the  aid  of  their  tried  maxims, 
to  so  advise  the  inexperienced,  the  foolish,  in- 
deed, all  who  needed  advice,  that  they  might 
live  the  fullest  and  best  lives  and  successfully 
attain  all  worthy  ends.  While  their  teaching 
was  distinctively  ethical  and  religious,  it  was 
also  very  practical  and  utilitarian.  As  pastors 
and  advisers  of  the  people,  they  drew  -their 
principles  and  ideals  from  Israel's  prophets, 
and  applied  them  to  the  practical,  every-day 
problems  of  life.  It  is  obvious  that  without 
their  patient,  devoted  instruction  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  chosen  people  for  their  mission 


Hebrew  Sages  and  their  Proverbs         167 

would  have  been  imperfect,  and  that  without 
a  record  of  their  teachings  the  Old  Testament 
would  have  been  incomplete. 

The  proverb  was  the  most  characteristic  Their  teach- 
literary  form  in  which  the  sages  treasured  and  sem^Tzn 
imparted  their  teachings.  Poetical  in  structure,  Proverbs 
terse,  often  figurative  or  epigrammatic,  the 
proverb  was  well  calculated  to  arouse  individ- 
ual thought  and  make  a  deep  impression  on 
the  mind.  Transmitted  from  mouth  to  mouth 
for  many  generations,  like  the  popular  tradi- 
tion or  law,  it  lost  by  attrition  all  its  un- 
necessary elements,  so  that,  '  like  an  arrow, '  it 
shot  straight  to  the  mark.  Based  on  common 
human  experience,  it  found  a  ready  response 
in  the  heart  of  man.  In  this  way  crystallized 
experience  was  transmitted,  gathering  effective- 
icss  and  volume  in  each  succeeding  generation. 
Job  viii.  8-10  speaks  of  this  accumulated  wis- 
dom handed  down  from  the  former  age,  that 
which  the  fathers  have  searched  out.  They  shall 
teach  man  and  inform  him,  and  utter  words  out 
of  their  heart.  Job  xv.  18  also  refers  to  that 
which  wise  men  have  told  from  their  fathers  and 
have  not  hid  it.  A  proverb  thus  orally  trans- 
mitted not  only  gains  in  beauty  of  form  but 

30  in  authority,   for  it   is  constantly  being 
tested  in  the  laboratory  of  real  life  and  re- 


168    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

ceives  the  silent  attestation   of   thousands   of 
men  and  of  many  different  generations. 
Expansion        When  the  sages  desired  to  treat  a  many-sided 
proverb        subject,    as,    for  example,   intemperance,   they 
still   used   proverbs,    but  combined   them  into 
brief  gnomic  essays  (<?.  </.,  xxiii.  29-35,  xxvi. 
1-17).     Sometimes,  to  fix  the  attention  of  their 
hearers,  they  combined  two  proverbs,  so  as  to 
produce  a  paradox,  as  in  Proverbs  xxvi.  4,  5 : 

Answer  not  a  fool  according  to  his  folly, 
Lest  thou  also  be  like  unto  him. 
Answer  a  fool  according  to  his  folly, 
Lest  he  be  wise  in  his  own  conceit. 

Later  they  developed  the  simple  gnomic  essay 
into  a  philosophical  drama,  of  which  Job 
is  the  classic  example,  or  into  a  homily,  like 
Ecclesiastes. 

Use  of  Side   by  side   with  the    proverb,    the  sages 

riddles™  appear  from  the  earliest  times  to  have  used  the 
fable  also;  this  is  illustrated  by  the  fable  of 
Jotham  in  Judges  ix.  6-21.  Of  the  riddle  a 
famous  examples  is  that  of  Samson  in  Judges 
xiv.  14,  18,  which  combines  rhythm  of  sound 
with  rhythm  of  thought  and  well  illustrates  the 
form  of  the  earliest  popular  Hebrew  poetry: 

Out  of  the  eater  came  something  to  eat, 
And  out  of  the  strong  came  something  sweet, 

and  its  answer: 


Hebrew  Sages  and  their  Proverbs         169 

If  with  my  heifer  you  did  not  plow, 
You  had  not  solved  my  riddle  now. 

Proverbs  xxx.  15-31  contains  a  collection  of 
numerical  riddles,  combined  with  their  answers. 

Proverbs  are  found  in  the  oldest  Hebrew  lit-  Traces  of 
erature.     The  Midianite  kings,  awaiting  death  f^^orl-"/ 
at  the  hand  of  Gideon,  cite  a  popular  proverb,  s^s  m  the 
For  as  the  man*  so  is  his  strength.     David   in  Hebrew 

history 

his  conversation  with  Saul  says,  As  runs  the 
proverb,  "  Out  of  the  wicked  cometh  forth  wicked- 
ness" (I  Sam.  xxiv.  13).  Frequent  references 
are  also  found  to  wise  men  and  women,  and 
examples  are  given  of  their  prudence  and  in- 
sight. Thus  Joab,  David's  iron-hearted  com- 
mander, brings  a  wise  woman  from  Tekoa,  the 
later  home  of  the  prophet  Amos,  to  aid  him  in 
securing  the  recall  of  the  banished  Absalom. 
By  her  feigned  story  she  succeeds  in  working 
upon  the  sympathy  of  the  king  to  such  a  degree 
that  he  commits  himself  finally  to  a  principle 
which  she  at  once  asks  him  to  apply  to  the  case 
of  his  own  son  (II  Sam.  xiv.  1-24). 

The  stories  told  in  I  Kings  iii.  16-28,  to  illus-  Basis  of 
trate  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  suggest  the  his-  reputation 
torical  basis  of  the  reputation  which  he  en  joyed  •^>r  wisdom 
in  the  thought  of  succeeding  generations.    Such 
stories  also  indicate,  as  do  the  other  early  ex- 
amples of  the  work  of  the  wise,  the  conception 


170    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

of  wisdom  held  in  that  more  primitive  age. 
Such  wisdom  does  not  necessarily  include 
ethical  righteousness  or  even  practical  exe- 
cutive ability,  for  the  true  Solomon  of  history 
was  lacking  in  both;  but  rather  a  certain 
shrewdness,  versatility,  and  keenness  of  insight 
which  enable  its  possessor  to  discern  what  is 
not  clearly  apparent.  First  Kings  iv.  29-34 
contains  the  later  popular  tradition  of  Solomon's 
wisdom : 

(29)  And  God  gave  Solomon  wisdom  and  insight 
in  plentiful  measure,  and  breadth  of  mind, 
even  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the  seashore,  (30) 
so  that  Solomon's  wisdom  surpassed  the  wis- 
dom of  all  the  eastern  Arabians  and  all  the 
wisdom  of  Egypt.  (31)  For  he  was  wiser  than 
all  men:  than  Ethan  the  Ezrahite,  and  He- 
man,  Calcol,  Darda,  the  sons  of  Mahol,  and 
his  fame  was  in  all  the  surrounding  nations. 
(32)  And  he  uttered  three  thousand  proverbs, 
and  his  songs  were  five  thousand.  (33)  And 
he  spoke  of  different  varieties  of  trees,  from 
the  cedar  that  is  in  Lebanon  even  to  the 
hyssop  that  springs  out  of  the  wall ;  he  spoke 
also  of  beasts,  of  birds,  of  creeping  things, 
and  of  fishes.  (34)  And  there  came  some  from 
among  all  peoples  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solo- 


Hebrew  Sages  and  their  Proverbs         171 

mon,  deputed  by  all  kings  of  the  earth,  who 
had  heard  of  his  wisdom. 

A  popular  proverb,  like  a  primitive  oral  law,  Reason  why 

,,  „  ,  .all  ancient 

usually  grows  out  of  common  human  experi-  proverbs 
ence,  and  is  gradually  formulated  and  moulded  ^j  f^hir* 
into  its  final  literary  form  by  successive  gen- 
erations. No  one  man  can  claim  it  as  his  own, 
and  even  if  he  could,  the  ancient  Semitic  East, 
which  cared  so  little  about  authors'  titles,  would 
have  quickly  forgotten  his  name.  That  Solo- 
mon did  utter  certain  brilliant  aphorisms,  em- 
bellished by  illustrations  drawn  from  animal 
and  plant  life,  cannot  be  doubted;  and  that 
some  of  them  have  been  preserved  in  the  book 
of  Proverbs  is  probable.  These  facts  and  the 
popular  tradition  that  tended  to  exalt  his 
wisdom  clearly  explain  why  all  Hebrew  prov- 
erbs were  attributed  to  him  (Prov.  i.  1),  in 
the  days  of  the  final  editing  of  the  book  of 
Proverbs. 
That  our  present  book  of  Proverbs  is  the  work  Evidence 

e  ,  ,  .   ,         ,.  ,    that  Prov- 

of  many  unknown  sages,  and  consists  of  a  col-  erbs  comes 
lection  of  smaller  groups  coming  from  different -^j 
periods,  is  demonstrated  by  the  superscriptions  wr^ters 
which   recur  throughout    the   book,    such  as, 
These  are  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  (x.  1),  These 
also  are  the  sayings  of  the  wise  (xxiv.  23),  These 
are  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  which  the  men  of 


172    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Hezekiah  king  of  Judah  copied  out  (xxv.  5), 
The  words  of  King  Lemuel  (xxxi.  1).  The 
same  proverbs  also  recur  in  different  groups,  in- 
dicating that  originally  they  were  independent 
collections,  gleaned  from  the  same  field.  When 
the  first  collection  was  made,  the  title  Proverb 
of  Solomon  evidently  meant  a  popular  maxim 
handed  down  from  antiquity  and  therefore  natu- 
rally attributed  to  the  most  famous  wise  man 
in  Israel's  early  history.  It  is  an  instructive 
fact  that  later  proverbs,  the  immediate  super- 
scriptions to  which  plainly  state  that  they  come 
from  many  different  sages,  are  still  called  Prov- 
erbs of  Solomon;  it  betrays  an  exact  parallel 
to  the  similar  tendency,  apparent  in  the  legal 
and  prophetic  literature,  to  attribute  late  an- 
onymous writings  to  earlier  authors.  This  is 
also  further  illustrated  by  such  late  Jewish 
books  as  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon  or  the  Psalms 
of  Solomon. 

Testimony        The  individual  proverbs  confirm  the  general 

vfJua/prou-  conclusion  that  they  come  from  many  different 

erbt  authors.      Those   which   commend    fidelity  to 

one    wife    and    kingly  consideration    for    the 

rights  of  subjects,  qualities  in  which  Solomon 

was  sadly  lacking,  do  not  fit  in   his  mouth. 

Many  are  written  from  the  point  of  view  of  a 

subject,  and  describe  what  a  man  should  do  in 


Hebrew  Sages  and  their  Proverbs         173 

the  presence  of  a  ruler.  Furthermore,  the  ethi- 
cal standards  upheld  are  those  of  prophets  who 
lived  and  taught  long  after  the  days  of  the 
Grand  Monarch  who  fascinated  his  own  and 
succeeding  generations  by  his  brilliant  wit 
rather  than  by  his  sterling  virtues. 

The  book  of  Proverbs  is  far  more  than  an  Real  nature 
epitome  of  his  versatile  sayings :  it  represents  at  ^ 
least  ten  centuries  of  experience  divinely  guided, 
but  won  often  through  mistakes  and  bitter 
disappointments.  It  contains  the  many  index 
hands,  set  up  before  the  eyes  of  men  to  point 
them  from  error  to  truth,  from  folly  to  right, 
and  from  failure  to  success.  Like  most  of  the 
Old  Testament  books,  it  embodies  the  contri- 
butions of  many  different  teachers  writing  from 
many  different  ages  and  points  of  view.  Their 
common  aim  is  well  expressed  by  the  sage  who 
appended  to  Proverbs  the  preface : 

To  acquire  wisdom  and  training, 

To  understand  rational  discourse, 

To  receive  training  in  wise  conduct, 

In  uprightness,  justice,  and  rectitude, 

To  impart  discretion  to  the  inexperienced, 

To  the  young  knowledge  and  insight  ; 

That  the  wise  man  may  hear  and  add  to  his  learning, 

And  the  man  of  intelligence  gain  education, 

To  understand  a  proverb  and  a  parable, 

The  words  of  sages  and  their  aphorisms. 


The  first 
edition  of 
Proverbs 


Dates  of 
the  other 
collections 


174    Origin  and  Value,  of  the  Old  Testament 

The  structure  and  contents  of  the  book  sug- 
gest its  literary  history.  Like  the  New  Testa- 
ment, it  appears  to  have  passed  through  different 
stages,  and  to  have  been  supplemented  repeatedly 
by  the  addition  of  new  collections.  The  origi- 
nal nucleus  is  probably  found  in  x.  1  to  xxii. 
16;  this  is  introduced  by  the  simple  super- 
scription, The  Proverbs  of  Solomon.  The  form 
of  the  proverb  is  simple ;  the  atmosphere  is  joy- 
ous, prosperity  prevails,  virtue  is  rewarded;  a 
king  who  loves  justice  and  righteousness  is  on 
the  throne  (xiv.  35,  xvi.  10,  12,  13,  xx.  8,  xxii. 
11) ;  the  rich  and  poor  stand  in  the  same  rela- 
tion to  each  other  as  in  the  days  of  the  pre -exilic 
prophets ;  and  the  teaching  of  their  prophets  — 
righteousness  is  more  acceptable  than  sacrifice 
—  is  frequently  reiterated  (xv.  8,  xvi.  6,  xxi.  3, 
27).  While  this  long  collection  doubtless  con- 
tains many  proverbs  antedating  even  the  begin- 
nings of  Israel's  history  and  possibly  some  added 
later,  the  indications  are  that  they  represent  the 
original  edition  of  the  book  which  the  Jews  car- 
ried with  them  into  the  Babylonian  exile.  This 
early  collection  was  perhaps  made  under  the  in- 
spiring influence  of  the  reign  of  Josiah. 

Undoubtedly  the  remaining  collections  also 
contain  many  very  ancient  proverbs,  but  as  a 
whole  their  literary  form  and  thought  is  more 


Hebrew  Sages  and  their  Proverbs         175 

complex.  The  descriptions  of  the  kings  sug- 
gest the  Persian  and  Greek  tyrants  who  ruled 
over  the  Jews  during  the  long  centuries  after 
the  exile  (cf.  xxv.  1-7,  xxviii.  2,  12,  15,  28, 
xxix.  2,  4,  16,  xix.  14).  The  age  of  the 
prophets  has  apparently  been  succeeded  by  that 
of  the  priest  and  the  law  (xxix.  18).  Already 
the  Jews  have  tasted  the  bitterness  of  exile 
(xxvii.  8).  There  are  also  certain  points  of 
close  contact  with  proverbs  of  Ben  Sira,  writ- 
ten about  190  B.  c.  The  sages  as  a  class  are 
very  prominent,  as  in  the  later  centuries  be- 
fore Christ.  These  and  many  other  indications 
lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  different  col- 
lections were  probably  made  after  the  exile, 
and  that  the  noble  introduction,  i.-ix.,  and  the 
two  chapters  in  the  appendix  were  not  added 
until  some  time  in  the  Greek  period,  —  not 
long  before  200  B.  c.  The  date,  however,  when 
these  proverbs  arose  and  were  committed  to 
writing  is  comparatively  unimportant,  save  as 
a  knowledge  of  their  background  aids  in  their 
interpretation,  and  as  they,  in  turn,  reveal  the 
life  and  thought  of  the  persecuted,  tempted 
Jews,  whose  religious  life  centred  in  the  second 
temple. 

Probably  in  the  Greek  period  also  a  poet-sage  Teaching  of 
collected  and   wove  together  certain   love  and  0fSon/s 


176    Origin  and  Value  of  the,  Old  Testament 

wedding  songs  of  his  race.  The  result  was 
called  the  Song  of  Songs,  that  is,  the  Peerless 
Song.  According  to  one  interpretation,  it  pre- 
sents, in  a  series  of  scenes,  the  heart  struggle 
of  a  simple  country  maiden  with  the  prompt- 
ings of  a  true,  pure  love  for  a  shepherd  lover 
and  the  bewildering  attractions  of  a  royal 
marriage;  and  true  love  in  the  end  triumphs. 
Whatever  be  the  interpretation,  it  is  clear  that 
this  exquisite  little  book,  so  filled  with  pictures 
of  nature  and  simple  country  life,  was  intended 
to  emphasize  the  duty  and  beauty  of  fidelity 
to  nature  and  the  promptings  of  the  human 
heart.  This  thought  is  expressed  in  the  power- 
ful passage  which  seems  to  voice  the  central 
teaching  of  the  poem: 

Love  is  strong  as  death ; 

Jealousy  is  as  cruel  as  Sheol ; 

Its  flashes  are  flashes  of  fire, 

A  very  flame  of  Jehovah. 

Many  waters  cannot  quench  love, 

Neither  can  floods  drown  it  : 

If  a  man  would  give  all  the  substance  of  his 

house  for  love, 
He  would  utterly  be  contemned. 


XI 

THE    WRITINGS    OF    ISRAEL'S 
PHILOSOPHERS 


XI 

THE    WRITINGS    OF    ISRAEL'S 
PHILOSOPHERS 

AN  intense  interest  in  man  led   certain  of  Discussions 

T  •          •  -i  i     •  tf  ^e  prob- 

Israel  s  sages  in  time  to  devote  their  atten-  iem  of  evil 
tion  to  more  general  philosophical  problems, 
such  as  the  moral  order  of  the  universe.  In 
the  earlier  proverbs,  prophetic  histories,  and 
laws,  the  doctrine  that  sin  was  always  pun- 
ished by  suffering  or  misfortune,  and  con- 
versely that  calamity  and  misfortune  were  sure 
evidence  of  the  guilt  of  the  one  affected,  had 
been  reiterated  until  it  had  become  a  dogma. 
In  nine  out  of  ten  cases  this  doctrine  was  true, 
but  in  time  experience  proved  that  the  tenth 
case  might  be  an  exception.  While  most  of 
the  teachers  of  the  race  denied  or  ignored  this 
exception,  certain  wise  men,  faithful  and  un- 
flinching in  their  analysis  of  human  life,  faced 
the  fact  that  the  innocent  as  well  as  the  guilty 
sometimes  suffer.  Their  quest  for  the  answer 
to  the  eternal  question,  Why?  is  recorded  in 
the  books  of  Job  and  Ecclesiastes. 


180    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

The  primi-  The  basis  of  the  book  of  Job  is  undoubtedly 
a  primitive  story.  Traces  of  a  tradition  some- 
what similiar  have  recently  been  discovered  in 
the  Babylonian- Assyrian  literature.  The  Baby- 
lonian treatment  of  the  moral  problem  that  it 
presents  is  even  more  strikingly  similar.  Eze- 
kiel  also  refers  to  a  well-known  popular  Hebrew 
version  of  the  story  of  Job  (xiv.  14):  though 
these  three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  were  in  it 
(the  guilty  land),  they  would  deliver  simply  their 
own  lives  by  their  righteousness,  saith  the  Lord 
Jehovah  (cf.  also  xiv.  20).  Evidently  in  Eze- 
kiel's  day  these  names  represented  three  ancient 
worthies,  each  conspicuous  for  his  superlative 
piety.  The  Hebrew  word  here  used  also  indi- 
cates that  the  righteousness  attributed  to  them 
was  conformity  to  the  demands  of  the  ritual. 
This  agrees  closely  with  the  representation  of 
the  prose  version  of  the  story  found  in  Job  i.  ii. 
and  xlii.  7-17;  here  the  supreme  illustration 
of  Job's  piety  is  that  he  repeatedly  sacrifices 
burnt-offerings,  whenever  there  is  the  least  pos- 
sibility that  his  sons  have  sinned  (i.  4,  5). 
Also  in  describing  his  perfection  (i.  1),  the 
same  unusual  term  is  employed  as  in  the 
priestly  narrative  of  Genesis  vi.  9,  where 
Noah's  righteousness  is  portrayed. 
It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  the  ancient 


The  Writings  of  Israel's  Philosophers     181 

story  of  Job  was  committed  to  writing  by  some  Original 
priest  during  the  Babylonian  exile.  Since  Job  application 
and  his  friends  live  out  on  the  borders  of  the^*""0" 
Arabian  desert  to  the  east  or  southeast  of 
Palestine,  it  seems  clear  that  the  tradition  came 
to  the  Hebrews  originally  from  some  foreign 
source ;  but  in  the  prose  form  in  which  we  find 
it  in  Job,  it  has  been  thoroughly  naturalized, 
for  Job  is  a  faithful  servant  of  Jehovah  and  the 
law.  Ignoring  for  the  moment  the  poetical 
sections  (iii.  1  to  xlii.  6),  we  find  that  the  prose 
story  has  a  direct,  practical  message  for  the 
broken-hearted  exiles,  crushed  beneath  an 
overpowering  calamity.  Jehovah  is  testing  his 
servant  people,  as  he  tests  Job  in  the  story,  to 
prove  whether  or  not  they  fear  Grod  for  nought 
(i.  9).  If  they  bear  the  test  without  com- 
plaint, as  did  Job,  all  their  former  possessions 
will  be  restored  to  them  in  double  measure 
(xlii.  7-17). 

This  prose  story  has  apparently  been  utilized  The  prob- 
and  given  a  very  different  interpretation  by  a  p^tical  sec- 
later  poet-sage  in  whose  ears  rang  Jeremiah's  tlon$  °SJob 
words  of  anguish,  found  in  chapter  xx.  14-18 
of  his  prophecy  (<?/.   Job  iii.),  and   to  whose 
ears  came  also  the  cry  of  the  pious  voiced  in 
Malachi  ii.  17 :  Every  one  who  does  evil  is  good 
in  the   sight  of  Jehovah,  and  he  delighteth  in 


182    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

them.  Where  is  the  God  of  justice  f  The  old 
solutions  of  the  problem  of  evil  were  being 
openly  discarded.  They  who  feared  Jehovah  were 
saying  (iii.  13,  14),  It  is  vain  to  serve  God ;  and 
what  profit  is  it  to  have  kept  his  charge  or  to  have 
walked  in  funeral  garb  before  Jehovah  of  hosts  ? 
Even  now  we  must  congratulate  the  arrogant; 
yea,  they  who  work  wickedness  are  entrenched; 
yea,  they  tempt  God  and  escape  !  With  a  bold- 
ness and  thoroughness  that  must  have  seemed  to 
his  contemporaries  dangerous  and  heretical,  the 
great  poet-sage  presents  the  problem  in  all  its 
intensity. 
The  r&t  of  He  adopts  the  popular  story,  utilizing  it  as 

Job  and  hi*    ,  .  ,  ,         .,  , 

friends  in  his  prologue  and  epilogue;  but  as  we  pass  to 
cnaP*er  !"•»  the  simple,  pure  Hebrew  yields  to 
sublime  poetry,  shot  through  with  the  words 
and  idioms  and  ideas  of  a  much  later  age.  The 
designation  of  God  is  no  longer  Jehovah,  but  El 
or  Eloah  or  Shaddai.  The  character  of  Job  sud- 
denly changes ;  instead  of  being  the  patient,  sub- 
missive servant  of  the  law,  he  boldly,  almost 
defiantly,  charges  God  with  injustice.  The 
role  of  the  friends  also  changes,  and  they  figure 
as  champions  of  the  Deity.  In  their  successive 
speeches  they  present  in  detail  the  current  dog- 
mas and  the  popular  explanations  of  suffering. 
In  his  replies  Job  points  out  their  inapplicability 


The  Writings  of  Israel's  Philosophers     183 

to  the  supreme  problem  of  which  he  is  the  em- 
bodiment. The  action  and  progress  in  this 
great  drama  is  within  the  mind  of  Job  himself. 
By  degrees  he  rises  to  a  clear  perception  of  the 
fact  that  he  is  innocent  of  any  crime  com- 
mensurate with  the  overwhelming  series  of 
calamities  which  have  overtaken  him;  and  he 
thus  throws  off  the  shackles  of  the  ancient 
dogma.  From  the  seemingly  cruel  and  unjust 
God  who  has  brought  this  undeserved  calamity 
upon  him,  he  then  appeals  to  the  Infinite  Being 
who  is  back  of  all  phenomena. 

The  reply  to  this  appeal,  and  the  author's  The  message 
contribution  to  the  eternal  problem  of  evil,  are 
found  in  xxxviii.  1  to  xlii.  6.  It  is  not  a  solu- 
tion, but  through  the  wonders  of  the  natural 
world,  it  is  a  fuller  revelation  to  the  mind  of 
Job,  of  the  omnipotence,  the  omniscience,  the 
wisdom,  and  the  goodness  of  God.  Even  though 
he  cannot  discern  the  reason  of  his  own  suffer- 
ing, he  learns  to  know  and  to  trust  the  wis- 
dom and  love  of  the  Divine  Ruler. 

• 

T  had  heard  of  this  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear ; 
But  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee  (xlii.  5). 

Faith  triumphs  over  doubt,  and  the  problem, 
though  unsolved,  sinks  into  comparative  insig- 
nificance. 


Teaching 
the  Elihu 
passage 
xxxii- 
xxxvii 


Probable 
history  of 
the  book 
of  Job 


184    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

of  Apparently  another  poet-sage  has  added, 
out  of  the  depths  of  his  own  experience,  his 
contribution  to  the  problem  of  suffering  in  the 
speeches  of  Elihu  (chapters  xxxii-xxxvii.).  It 
is  that  suffering  rightly  borne  becomes  a  blessing 
because  it  is  one  of  God's  ways  of  training  his 
servants.  This  indeed  is  an  expansion  of  the 
explanation  urged  by  Eliphaz  in  v.  17,  Behold, 
happy  is  the  man  whom  Grod  correcteth.  While 
these  speeches  of  Elihu  are  written  in  a  differ- 
ent literary  style  and  have,  in  fact,  no  vital 
connection  with  the  original  poem  of  Job,  they 
nevertheless  contain  a  great  and  intensely  prac- 
tical truth ;  they  have  rightly  found  a  place  in 
this  marvellous  book.  Similarly  the  sublime 
description  of  wisdom  in  chapter  xxviii.  makes 
good  its  title ;  it  can,  however,  be  studied  best 
by  itself  apart  from  Job's  impassioned  protesta- 
tions of  his  innocence  (chapter  xxix.). 

Thus  the  book  of  Job,  like  so  many  other 
Old  Testament  writings,  has  its  own  literary 
history.  Somewhere  and  sometime,  back  in  an 
early  Semitic  period,  there  doubtless  lived  a 
man,  conspicuous  for  his  virtue  and  prosperity. 
Upon  him  fell  a  misfortune  so  great  and  ap- 
parently undeserved  that  it  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion, not  only  upon  his  contemporaries,  but  also 
upon  the  minds  of  later  generations.  Thus 


The  Writings  of  Israel's  Philosophers     185 

there  grew  up  a  common  Semitic  story  of  Job 
which  was  in  time  thoroughly  naturalized  in 
Israel.  Probably  a  Jewish  priest  in  the  exile 
first  committed  it  to  writing  in  order  to  assure 
his  fellow-sufferers  that  could  they  but  be 
patient  and  submissive  Jehovah  would  soon 
restore  them  to  their  former  prosperity.  The 
painful  experiences  that  came  to  the  Jews, 
especially  to  the  pious,  during  the  middle  and 
latter  part  of  the  Persian  period  (sometime  be- 
tween 450  and  340  B.  c.),  convinced  a  poet-sage 
that  the  old  interpretations  of  the  meaning  of 
suffering  did  not  suffice.  Accordingly  into  the 
heart  of  the  familiar  story  of  Job  he  injected 
his  powerful,  impassioned  message.  Later  writ- 
ers, inspired  by  his  inspiring  genius,  added  their 
contributions  to  the  solution  of  the  perennial 
problem.  Hence  by  200  B.  c.,  at  least,  the 
book  of  Job  was  probably  current  in  its  present 
form. 

The  same  ever-recurring,  insistent  questions  Age  and 
regarding  the   moral    value    and    meaning   of  ofEcde- 
life  led  another  later  wise  man  to  embody  the  *iastei 
results   of  his   observation   and   experience   in 
what  we  now  know  as  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes. 
Although  i.  16  and  ii.  7,  9  clearly  imply  that 
many  kings  had  already  reigned  in  Jerusalem, 
the  author  seems  to  put  his  observations  in  the 


186     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

mouth  of  Solomon,  the  acknowledged  patron 
of  wisdom  teaching.  The  evidence,  however, 
that  the  book  is  one  of  the  latest  in  the  Old 
Testament  is  overwhelmingly  conclusive.  The 
language  is  that  of  an  age  when  Hebrew  had 
long  ceased  to  be  spoken.  The  life  mirrored 
throughout  is  that  of  the  luxurious,  corrupt 
Greek  period.  If  not  directly,  at  least  indi- 
rectly, it  reflects  the  doctrines  of  the  Stoics  and 
the  Epicureans.  It  was  a  crooked,  sordid,  weary 
world  upon  which  its  author  looked.  It  is  not 
strange  that  a  vein  of  materialism  and  pessimism 
runs  through  his  observations  and  maxims.  All 
is  vanity  is  the  dominant  note,  and  yet  light  al- 
ternates with  shadow.  He  loses  faith  in  human 
nature;  yet  he  does  not  give  up  his  faith  in 
God,  though  that  faith  is  darkened  by  the  deso- 
lateness  of  the  outlook.  While  the  book  has 
practical  religious  teachings,  perhaps  its  chief 
mission,  after  all,  is  vividly  to  portray  the  dark- 
ness just  before  the  dawn  of  the  belief  in  a 
future  life  and  before  the  glorious  rising  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness. 

Significance      Its  teachings  naturally  called  forth  many  pro- 
°additionsr    tests,  explanations,  and  supplements,  and  these 
have  found  the  permanent  place  in  the  book  that 
they  rightfully  deserve.     Its  fragmentary  struc- 
ture and    abrupt  transitions   also  made   later 


The  Writings  of  Israel's  Philosophers      187 

insertions  exceedingly  easy.  These  are  the 
simplest  and  the  most  natural  explanation  of 
the  sharp  contradictions  that  abound  in  the 
book  (cf.  e.  g.,  ii.  22  and  iii.  22,  or  iv.  2  and 
ix.  4,  or  iii.  16  and  iii.  17,  or  viii.  14  and  ix. 
2,  or  iii.  1-9  and  iii.  11).  The  preacher,  whose 
painful  experiences  and  prevailingly  pessimistic 
teachings  are  the  original  basis  of  the  book,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  consistent  throughout.  He 
ends  in  xii.  8  with  the  same  refrain,  Vanity  of 
vanities  ;  all  is  vanity!  In  a  divine  library  like 
the  Old  Testament,  reflecting  every  side  of 
human  thought  and  experience,  such  a  book 
is  not  inappropriate.  Its  contradictions  pro- 
voke thought;  they  beget  also  a  true  appre- 
ciation of  the  positive  notes  thus  brought  into 
dramatic  contrast  with  the  ground  tones  of  pes- 
simism which  resound  through  all  literature  and 
history. 


XII 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PSALTER 


XII 
THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PSALTER 

CORRESPONDING  to  the  book  of  Proverbs,  Nature  or 
itself  a  select  library  containing  Israel's  best 
gnomic  literature,  is  the  Psalter,  the  compen- 
dium of  the  nation's  lyrical  songs  and  hymns 
and  prayers.  It  is  the  record  of  the  soul  expe- 
riences of  the  race.  Its  language  is  that  of  the 
heart,  and  its  thoughts  are  of  common  interest 
to  worshipful  humanity.  It  reflects  almost  every 
phase  of  religious  feeling:  penitence,  doubt,  re- 
morse, confession,  fear,  faith,  hope,  adoration, 
and  praise.  Even  the  unlovely  emotion  of 
hatred  is  frankly  expressed  in  certain  of  the 
imprecatory  psalms.  The  Psalms  appeal  to 
mankind  in  every  age  and  land  because, 
being  so  divine  and  yet  so  human,  they  rest 
on  the  foundations  of  universal  experience. 
Whenever  a  heart  is  breaking  with  sorrow  or 
pulsating  with  thanksgiving  and  adoration,  its 
strongest  emotions  find  adequate  expression  in 
the  simple  and  yet  sublime  language  of  the 
Psalter. 


192    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Influence  of  In  the  familiar  doings  of  Mary  and  Zacharias, 
uponif*  *  *  found  in  the  opening  chapters  of  Luke,  we  may 
trace  the  beginnings  of  the  hymn  literature  of 
the  early  Christian  Church,  a  literature  which 
later  became  one  of  the  Church's  most  valued 
possessions.  If  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament 
had  been  closed  in  1000  instead  of  400  A.  D., 
its  books  would  doubtless  have  included  a  hym- 
nal which  would  have  corresponded  closely  to 
the  Psalter  of  the  Old.  Just  as  the  Psalms  rep- 
resent the  application  of  the  great  doctrines  of 
the  Hebrew  prophets  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
community,  so  this  new  hymnal  would  repre- 
sent the  personal  application  of  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  and  the  apostles  to  the  religious  life  of 
the  Church  and  the  individual.  The  Psalter  is 
also  what  it  is  because  its  background  is  a  period 
of  stress  and  severe  trial.  In  the  hot  furnace  of 
affliction  and  persecution  the  psalmists  learned 
to  appreciate  the  truths  which  they  so  confi- 
dently and  effectively  proclaim.  Then  the 
spiritual  teachings  of  the  earlier  prophets,  which 
were  contemptuously  rejected  by  their  contem- 
poraries, were  at  last  appropriated  by  the  com- 
munity. The  Psalter  as  a  whole  appears,  there- 
fore, to  be  one  of  the  latest  and  most  precious 
fruits  of  the  divine  revelation  recorded  in  the 
Old  Testament. 


The  History  of  the  Psalter  193 

In  its  present  form,  the  Psalter  is  divided  into  Evidence  of 
five  books  or  collections.  At  the  end  of  each  lotions  of 
collection  there  is  a  concluding  doxology  (xli.,  P*alms 
Ixxii.,  Ixxxix.,  cvi).  The  last  psalm  (cl.)  serves 
as  a  concluding  doxology,  not  only  to  the  fifth 
collection,  but  also  to  the  Psalter  as  a  whole. 
Certain  psalms  are  also  reproduced  in  two  dif- 
ferent collections  with  only  slight  variations. 
For  example,  xiv.  is  practically  identical  with 
liii.,  except  that  in  the  first  Jehovah  is  always 
used  as  the  designation  of  the  Deity,  and  in  liii. 
Elohim  or  God;  again  Psalm  xl.  13-17  is  repro- 
duced in  Ixx. ;  Ivii.  7-11  and  Ix.  5-12  are  to- 
gether practically  equivalent  to  cviii.  These 
and  kindred  facts  indicate  that  the  Psalter,  like 
the  book  of  Proverbs,  is  made  up  of  collections 
originally  distinct.  The  division  into  exactly 
five  groups  appears  to  be  comparatively  late, 
and  to  be  in  imitation  of  the  fivefold  division 
of  the  Pentateuch. 

The  genesis  of  the  book  of  Proverbs  is  ex-  The  oldett 
ceedingly  helpful  in  tracing  the  closely  analo-  c° 
gous  growth   of  the  Psalter.     The   prevailing 
form  of  the  superscriptions  and  the  predominant 
use  of  the   name   Jehovah  or  Elohim  also  aid 
in  this  difficult  task.     Psalms   i.   and   ii.   are 
introductory  to  the  entire   book.     Psalms   iii- 
xli.   all  bear  the    Davidic   superscription  and 
13 


194    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

use  the  designation  Jehovah  two  hundred  and 
seventy-two  times,  but  Elohim  only  fifteen.  The 
form  and  contents  of  these  psalms,  as  well  as 
their  position,  suggest  that  they  are  the  oldest 
collection  in  the  book.  In  the  Greek  version  all 
the  psalms  of  the  collection  found  in  li-lxxii., 
excepting  Psalm  Ixvi.,  which  is  anonymous, 
and  Ixxii.,  which  is  attributed  to  Solomon,  have 
also  the  Davidic  superscription.  Although  cer- 
tain subsequent  psalms  are  ascribed  to  David, 
as,  for  example,  Ixxxvi.,  ci.,  and  ciii.,  the  close 
of  the  collection  is  the  significant  epilogue 
(Ixxii.  20),  the  prayers  of  David  the  son  of  Jesse 
are  ended. 

Meaning  Before  the  approximate  date  of  these  col- 
tAe  super-  lections  can  be  determined  the  significance  of 
»cript\ont  the  Davidic  title  needs  interpretation.  In  the 
Hebrew  version  this  title  is  borne  by  seventy- 
three  psalms.  Two  are  ascribed  to  Solomon 
(Ixxii.  and  cxxvii.),  one  to  Moses  (xc.),  and 
twenty-four  to  the  members  of  the  post-exilic 
guilds  of  temple  singers.  The  superscriptions 
of  the  Greek  and  Syrian  versions  contain  many 
variations  from  those  in  the  Hebrew.  This  is 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  superscriptions  are 
usually  added  by  later  scribes  in  whose  minds 
the  question  of  authorship  first  became  promi- 
nent. In  earlier  Hebrew  the  phrase  commonly 


The  History  of  the  Psalter  195 

translated  Psalm  of  David  would  more  naturally 
mean  a  psalm  for  David  or  dedicated  or  attrib- 
uted to  David.  The  latter  appears  to  have  been 
its  original  significance.  Like  the  title,  Prov- 
erbs of  Solomon^  it  was  used  to  distinguish 
an  ancient  poem,  which,  being  a  psalm,  was 
naturally  ascribed  to  David,  and  to  him  later 
Judaism,  in  common  with  the  New  Testament 
writers,  attributed  all  psalm  literature.  A  de- 
tailed study  of  the  superscriptions  soon  demon- 
strates that  the  majority  of  them  represent  only 
the  conjectures  of  scribes  who  were  guided  by 
current  traditions  or  suggestions  embodied  in 
the  psalms  themselves.  In  this  manner,  to 
Solomon,  the  builder  of  the  temple,  is  ascribed 
Psalm  cxxvii.,  because  it  refers  to  the  building 
of  the  house  in  its  opening  verse.  The  Greek 
version  even  attributes  to  David  Psalm  xcvi., 
which,  it  states,  was  written  when  the  temple  was 
being  built  after  the  captivity. 

Since  the  superscriptions  to  the  Psalter  were  David's  re- 
only  very  late  additions,  the  question  still  re-  puller  '  * 
mains,  What  was  the  basis  of  the  late  Jewish 
tradition  that  makes   David  the  father  of   the 
psalm  literature,  as  was  Solomon  of  the  wisdom, 
Moses  of  the  legal,  and  Enoch  of  the  apocalyp- 
tical ?    The  other  Old  Testament  books  give  no 
direct  answer.     They  tell  us,  however,  that  the 


196     Oriyin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

warrior  king  was  skilled  in  playing  the  lyre, 
and  we  are  aware  that  to  this,  in  antiquity,  an 
improvised  accompaniment  was  usually  sung. 
We  also  have  the  account  of  David's  touching 
elegies  over  the  death  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  and 
of  Abner  (II  Sam.  i.,  iii.  33,  34).  Moreover, 
the  early  historical  books  vividly  portray  the 
faults  of  David,  the  limitations  which  he  shared 
in  common  with  his  contemporaries,  and  his 
deeply  religious  spirit;  but  they  leave  the 
question  of  his  relation  to  the  Psalter  to  be 
settled  by  the  testimony  of  the  individual 
psalms.  Here  the  evidence  is  not  conclusive. 
It  is  clear  that  many  of  the  psalms  attributed 
by  tradition  to  him  were  written  in  the  clearer 
light  of  later  prophetic  teaching  and  amid  very 
different  circumstances  from  those  which  sur- 
rounded Israel's  early  king.  Still  it  would  be 
dogmatic  to  assert  that  nothing  from  his  lips  is 
to  be  found  in  the  Psalter;  and  to  point  out 
with  assurance  those  passages  and  psalms  which 
must  be  Davidic  is  quite  as  unwarrantable. 
Evidence  of  The  Psalter  is  clearly  the  repository  of  that 
element*  in  which  was  best  in  the  earlier  spiritual  life  and 
the  Pialter  Bought  of  the  race.  While  there  are  no  direct 
references  to  songs  in  connection  with  the  pre- 
exilic  Jewish  temple,  Amos  (v.  23)  found  them 
in  use  at  the  sanctuary  at  Bethel;  and  from 


The  History  of  the  Psalter  197 

Psalm  cxxxvii.  3,  4  it  would  appear  that  the 
exiles  in  Babylonia  were  acquainted  with  certain 
songs  of  Zion  or  gongs  of  Jehovah.  Treasured  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  attributed,  perhaps 
even  by  the  time  of  the  exile,  as  a  whole  to 
David,  they  constituted  the  basis  of  the  earliest 
collections  of  psalms,  which,  as  we  have  noted, 
practically  without  exception  bear  the  Davidic 
superscription.  The  date  of  each  individual 
psalm,  however,  must  be  determined  independ- 
ently on  the  basis  of  its  own  testimony,  although 
the  historical  allusions  are  few  and  the  data  in 
many  cases  are  far  from  decisive. 

Just  when  the  earliest  collections,  found  in  Approxi- 
iii.-xli.  and  li.-lxxii.,  were  made  is  a  compar-  ^elarfiat 
atively  unimportant  yet  difficult  question  to  de- 
cide.  Probably  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple 
in  516  B.  c.  was  one  of  the  great  incen- 
tives. The  example  of  the  Babylonians,  who 
possessed  a  large  and  rich  psalm  literature, 
may  also  have  exerted  an  indirect  influ- 
ence. At  least  it  is  certain  that  the  guilds  of 
temple  singers  and  the  song  service  became 
increasingly  prominent  in  the  religious  life  of 
the  Jewish  community  which  grew  up  about 
the  restored  temple.  The  presence  of  alpha- 
betical psalms,  as,  for  example,  ix.,  x.,  xxv., 
xxxiv.,  xxxvii.,  in  the  earliest  collection  sug- 


198    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

gests  also  the  leisure  of  the  exile.  The  historical 
background  of  many  of  these  psalms  is  clearly 
the  exile  and  the  long  period  of  distress  that 
followed.  They  voice  the  experiences  of  the 
poor,  struggling  band  of  the  pious,  who,  living 
in  the  midst  of  oppressors,  found  in  Jehovah 
alone  their  refuge  and  their  joy.  Some  of  these 
psalms  also  reflect  the  prophetic  teachings  of 
Jeremiah  (e.  g.,  xvi.,  xxxix)  and  of  Isaiah  xl.- 
Ixvi.  In  general  their  attitude  toward  sacrifice 
is  that  of  the  prophets : 

For  thou  desirest  not  sacrifice ; 
Else  would  1  give  it. 
Thou  delightest  not  in  burnt  offering. 
The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit ; 
A  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou 
wilt  not  despise. 

Religion  is  defined  in  the  terms  of  life  and  acts. 
Ceremonialism  has  not  yet  cast  its  chilling  in- 
fluence over  the  heart  of  the  nation.  Therefore 
the  earliest  collections  may,  with  considerable 
assurance,  be  assigned  to  a  date  not  later  than 
the  days  of  Nehemiah  (about  400  B.  c.). 
Later  Psalms  xlii.-l.  and  Ixxiii.-lxxxiii.  constitute 

a  collection  of  Levitical  hymns.  If  we  may  fol- 
low the  indications  of  their  superscriptions,  they 
consist  of  two  originally  distinct  groups,  the  one, 
xlii.-xlix.,  associated  with  and  possibly  at  first 


The  History  of  the  Psalter  199 

collected  and  preserved  by  the  post-exilic  guild 
of  temple  singers,  known  as  the  sons  of  Korah, 
and  the  other,  1.,  Ixxiii.-lxxxiii.,  similarly  at- 
tributed to  Asaph,  the  guild  of  temple  singers, 
mentioned  first  in  the  writings  of  the  Greek 
period.  In  these  two  groups  the  priests  and 
Levites  and  the  liturgy  are  prominent.  Psalms 
Ixxxiv.-lxxxix.  constitute  a  short  Levitical  sup- 
plement. The  remainder  of  the  Psalter  is  also 
made  up  of  originally  smaller  collections,  as, 
for  example,  the  Psalms  of  Ascent  or  the  Pil- 
grim Psalms  (cxx.-cxxxiv.),  and  the  Hallelujah 
Psalms  (cxi.-cxiii.  and  cxlvi.-cl.).  Some  of  the 
latter  come  perhaps  from  the  Jews  of  the  dis- 
persion. Each  collection  appears  to  represent 
a  fresh  gleaning  of  the  same  or  slightly  differ- 
ent fields,  incorporating  ancient  with  contem- 
porary psalms,  and,  as  has  been  noted,  not 
infrequently  including  some  already  found  in 
earlier  collections. 

Certain  of  the  psalms,  such  as  Ixxiv.,  Ixxix.,  Completion 
Ixxxiii.,  seem  clearly  to  reflect  the  horrors  of 
the  Maccabean  struggle  (169-165  B.  c.).  Later 
Jewish  literature  bears  testimony  that  in  the 
last  two  centuries  before  Christ  psalm  writing 
increased  rather  than  decreased  (cf.  e.  <?.,  Psalms 
of  Solomon).  Certainly  the  experiences  through 
which  the  Jews  passed  during  the  middle  of  the 


200    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

second  century  were  of  a  nature  to  evoke  psalms 
similar  to  those  in  the  Psalter.  The  prob- 
abilities, therefore,  are  that  the  Psalter,  in  its 
final  form,  is,  like  the  book  of  Daniel,  one  of 
the  latest  writings  in  the  Old  Testament.  It 
was  possibly  during  the  prosperous  reign  of 
Simon,  when  the  temple  service  was  enriched 
and  established  on  a  new  basis,  that  its  canon 
was  finally  closed. 

The  book  of  The  fact  that  they  all  gather  about  a  definite 
"  event  in  Israel's  history,  and  probably  antedate 
the  majority  of  the  psalms  in  the  Psalter,  ex- 
plains why  the  little  collection  of  lyrical  poems, 
known  as  the  book  of  Lamentations,  never  found 
a  place  beside  the  kindred  psalms  (e.g.,  Pss.  xlii., 
xliii)  in  the  larger  book.  Their  theme  is  the 
Babylonian  exile  and  the  horrors  and  distress 
that  it  brought  to  the  scattered  members  of  the 
Jewish  race.  Their  aim  is  prophetic,  that  is, 
to  point  out  and  confess  the  guilt  of  the  nation 
and  its  dire  consequences.  They  reflect  the 
teachings  of  both  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  While 
it  is  not  strange  that  later  tradition  attributed 
the  collection  to  the  first  of  these  prophets,  its 
contents  do  not  support  the  conjecture.  Four 
out  of  the  five  poems  are  alphabetical,  and  dis- 
tinctly different  points  of  view  are  represented. 
Chapters  ii.  and  iv.  probably  come  from  the 


The  History  of  the  Psalter  201 

middle   of  the   Babylonian   exile,    and   to   the 
remainder  must  be  assigned  a  still  later  period. 

The  Psalter,  with  its  natural  appendix,  the  The  national 
book  of  Lamentations,  was  the  song  and  prayer  ™dual  e'l'e- 
book  of  the  Jewish  community.  A  majority 
of  the  psalms,  and  especially  those  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  book,  were  doubtless  originally  in- 
tended for  liturgical  use.  Many,  particularly 
where  the  first  person  singular  is  used,  are  to  be 
interpreted  collectively,  for  here,  as  often  in  the 
book  of  Lamentations,  the  psalmist  is  speaking 
in  behalf  of  the  community.  Others  have  been 
adapted  to  liturgical  ends.  But  in  the  final  an- 
alysis it  is  the  experience  and  emotions  of  the 
individual  soul  that  find  expression  throughout 
all  the  psalms.  Since  these  experiences  and 
emotions  were  shared  in  common  by  all  right- 
minded  members  of  the  community,  it  was 
natural  that  they  should  in  time  be  employed 
in  the  liturgy. 

Again,  as  we  review  the  history  of  the  Psalter, 
we  are  impressed  with  the  many  sides  of  Israel's 
life  and  human  experience  that  it  represents. 
Not  one,  but  perhaps  fifty  or  a  hundred,  inspired 
souls,  laymen,  prophets,  priests,  sages,  kings, 
and  warriors,  have  each  clothed  the  divine  truth 
that  came  to  them  or  to  their  generation  in 
exquisite  language  and  imagery,  and  given  it 


202     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

thus  to  their  race  and  humanity.  Successive 
editors  have  collected  and  combined  the  noblest 
of  these  psalms,  and  the  Psalter  is  the  result. 
The  exact  date  of  each  psalmist  and  editor  is 
comparatively  unimportant,  for  though  differ- 
ing widely  in  origin  and  theme,  they  are  all 
bound  together  by  a  common  purpose  and  a 
common  belief  in  the  reality  and  the  immediate 
presence  of  God.  All  nature  and  history  and 
life  are  to  them  but  the  manifestation  of  his 
justice  and  mercy  and  love.  In  direct  com- 
munion with  the  God  whom  they  personally 
knew,  they  found  the  consolation  and  peace 
and  joy  that  passeth  all  understanding,  even 
though  the  heathen  raged  and  their  foes  plun- 
dered and  taunted  them.  To  that  same  haven 
of  rest  they  still  pilot  the  world's  storm-tossed 
mariners. 


XIII 

THE  FORMATION   OF  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT  CANON 


XIII 

THE  FORMATION  OF  THE   OLD 
TESTAMENT  CANON 

COULD  we   have   studied  the    scriptures   of  Israel's  lit- 
the  Israelitish  race  about  400  B.C.,  we  should  'he 


have  classified  them  under  four  great  divisions  : 
(1)  The  prophetic  writings,  represented  by  the 
combined  early  Judean,  Ephraimite,  and  late 
prophetic  or  Deuteronomic  narratives,  and  their 
continuation  in  Samuel  and  Kings,  together 
with  the  earlier  and  exilic  prophecies;  (2)  the 
legal,  represented  by  the  majority  of  the  Old 
Testament  laws,  combined  with  the  late  priestly 
history;  (3)  the  wisdom,  represented  by  the 
older  small  collections  of  proverbs  ;  (4)  the 
devotional  or  liturgical,  represented  by  Lamen- 
tations and  the  earlier  collections  of  psalms. 

Even   before   all   the  Old  Testament  books  The  combin- 
were  written,  the  work  of  canonization  began  ;  lp/0phetic 
before  the  first  large  canon   was  adopted,  the 
prophetic  and  priestly  narratives,  and  with  them 
the  earlier  and  later  laws,  were  combined.     This 
amalgamation  was  the  work  of  a  late  priestly 


206     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

editor.     The  Pentateuch  and  its  immediate  se- 
quel, Joshua,  is  the  result. 

The  method  A  study  of  these  books  makes  clear  the  edi- 
Of  combining  ^^  metnod.  Naturally  he  gave  the  late  priestly 
versions  the  precedence.  He  placed,  therefore, 
its  version  of  the  creation  first,  —  a  position  that 
it  well  deserves.  Probably  as  a  result  of  this 
arrangement  the  older  and  more  primitive  pro- 
phetic version  of  Genesis  ii.  4a-25  was  somewhat 
abridged,  for  it  begins  with  the  picture  of  a  level 
plain,  watered  by  a  daily  mist,  and  is  immedi- 
ately followed  by  the  account  of  the  creation  of 
man.  Genesis  iii.  and  iv.  are  taken  entirely  from 
the  prophetic,  and  practically  all  of  v.  from  the 
priestly,  group  of  narratives.  Confronted  by 
two  variant  versions  of  the  flood,  he  joined 
them  together  into  a  closely  knit  narrative ;  but 
all  the  elements  of  both  versions  are  so  faithfully 
preserved  that  when  they  are  again  separated, 
behold!  the  two  originally  complete  and  self- 
consistent  versions  reappear.  The  story  of  Noah, 
the  first  vineyard-keeper,  in  ix.  20-27,  is  taken 
entirely  from  the  prophetic  history,  but  in  x. 
two  distinct  lists  of  the  nations  are  joined  to- 
gether. All  the  story  of  the  tower  tif  Babel  in 
xi.  1-9  is  from  the  prophetic,  while  the  gene- 
alogical list  in  the  remainder  of  the  chapter  is 
from  the  priestly  history.  The  patriarchal  and 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon     207 

subsequent  narratives   are    likewise    combined 
with  the  same  remarkable  skill. 

Thus  the  first  six  Old  Testament  books  were  Later 
given  their  final  form.  The  method  in  general  analogies 
was  the  same  as  that  followed  by  the  authors  of 
the  First  and  Third  Gospels  in  their  use  of  Mat- 
thew's Sayings  of  Jesus  and  the  original  Mark 
narrative,  or  by  the  authors  of  Samuel,  Kings, 
and  Chronicles  in  their  citations  from  the  older 
sources.  In  his  close  fusion  of  three  or  four 
parallel  narratives  the  editor's  work  resembled 
most  closely  that  of  Tatian,  who  thus  combined 
the,  four  Gospels  in  his  Diatessaron.  So  far  as 
we  are  able  to  observe,  the  final  editor  of  the 
Hexateuch  preserved,  like  Tatian,  most  of  the 
material  in  his  older  sources,  except  where  a 
parallel  version  verbally  duplicated  another. 
The  prophetic  and  priestly  narratives  also  fol- 
lowed lines  so  distinctly  different  that  cases  of 
duplication  were  comparatively  few. 

To  the  latest  editor  of  the  early  narratives  we  Deep  signifi- 
owe  the  preservation  of  some  of  the  oldest  and  Cworkofthe 
most  valuable  sections  of  the  Old  Testament. later  editors 
In   that    age   and  land    of    perishable   writing 
materials,  the  prevailing  method  of  compilation 
was  one   of  the   effective  means   whereby  the 
important  portions   of   primitive   records   were 
handed  down  in  practically  their  original  form. 


208     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

It  is  well  that  we  are  beginning  to  understand 
its  significance  in  the  realization  of  the  divine 
purpose.  Important  beyond  words,  although 
often  overlooked,  were  the  services  of  the  faith- 
ful editors  who  without  the  slightest  desire  for 
personal  glory  or  reward,  other  than  the  per- 
petuation of  truth,  carefully  selected,  condensed, 
and  combined  material  gleaned  from  earlier  and 
fuller  sources.  To  them  is  due  the  marvellous 
preservation  of  our  Old  Testament.  To  the  hon- 
ored role  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  therefore, 
let  us  add  the  anonymous  redactors. 
Date  of  the  The  final  editors  were  the  immediate  pre- 
-  cursors  of  those  who  formed  the  successive 
canons  °f  the  Old  Testament.  Indeed,  between 
the  work  of  the  former  and  the  latter  there  is 
no  clear  line  of  demarcation.  A  period  shortly 
after  400  B.  c.  is  the  date  usually  accepted 
for  the  work  of  the  final  editor  of  the  Penta- 
teuch; the  canonization  of  the  law,  which  in- 
cluded these  five  books,  is  dated  between  400 
and  300  B.  c.  The  real  canonization  of  Israel's 
laws  had,  however,  begun  much  earlier.  The 
primitive  decalogue,  represented  by  Exodus 
xxxiv.,  and  probably  from  the  first  associated 
with  Moses,  appears,  in  the  earliest  periods  of 
Israel's  history,  to  have  enjoyed  a  canonical 
authority.  The  primitive  accounts,  in  Exo- 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon     209 

dus  xix.,  of  the  establishment  of  the  covenant 
by  Jehovah  with  his  people  mark  the  real 
beginning  of  the  process  of  canonization,  —  a 
process,  that  is,  of  attributing  to  certain  laws 
a  unique  and  commanding  authority. 

Likewise  the  successive   civil,  humane,  and  Popular 

.   111  p  ,11          acceptance 

ceremonial  decalogues  appear  from  the  days  and  promui- 
of  the  united  kingdom  to  have  occupied  a  simi-  g^rUer°cotes 
lar  position.  Primarily  this  was  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  each  was  based  upon  a  divine 
torah  or  decision,  received  from  Jehovah  through 
the  priestly  oracle.  The  public  reading  and 
promulgation  of  the  Deuteronomic  laws  in  the 
days  of  Josiah,  with  the  attestation  of  the 
prophets  and  the  solemn  adoption  by  the  people, 
was  an  act  of  canonization  far  more  formal  than 
the  final  acceptance  of  the  New  Testament 
writings  by  the  Council  of  Carthage. 

The  next  great  stage  in  the  canonization  of  Adoption  of 
the  law  is  recorded  in  Nehemiah  x.  Then  the  priestly  law 
representatives  of  the  Jewish  community  entered 
into  a  solemn  obligation  and  took  oath  to  walk  in 
God's  law,  which  was  given  by  Moses  the  servant 
of  God,  and  to  observe  to  do  all  the  commands  of 
Jehovah  our  Lord  and  his  ordinances  and  his 
statutes  (v.  29.)  This  action  appears  to  be  the 
historical  basis  of  the  fanciful  and  incredible 
Jewish  traditions  concerning  the  work  of  the 
14 


Acceptance 
of  the 
completed 
Torah 


210    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Great  Synagogue  and  the  authority  of  Ezra. 
The  new  law  thus  adopted  was  evidently  the  one 
gradually  developed  and  finally  formulated  by  the 
Jewish  priests  in  Babylonia.  It  was  accepted, 
as  was  the  earlier  Deuteronomic  code,  because 
it  met  the  needs  and  appealed  to  the  moral 
and  religious  sense  of  those  by  whom  it  was 
adopted. 

To  set  completely  aside  the  Deuteronomic  law- 
book  and  the  primitive  decalogue  of  Exodus  xx.- 
xxiii.,  already  in  force  among  the  Jews  of  Pales- 
tine, was  impossible  and  unnecessary.  Hence,  as 
we  have  noted,  it  was  the  task  of  some  editor  of 
the  next  generation  to  combine  these  and  the 
earlier  prophetic  histories  with  the  late  priestly 
law  and  its  accompanying  history.  Naturally 
this  whole  collection  was  still  called  the  Torah 
or  Law  and  was  at  once  accepted  as  canonical 
by  the  Jews.  This  step  was  also  most  natural 
because  their  interests  all  centred  about  the 
ritual,  and  for  two  centuries  the  dominant 
tendency  had  been  to  exalt  the  sanctity  of  the 
written  law. 

Date  of  the  It  is  possible  to  fix  approximately  the  date  of 
this  first  edition  of  the  Old  Testament  writings, 
since  the  Samaritans  adopted  and  still  retain 
simply  the  Pentateuch  and  an  abbreviated  edi- 
tion of  Joshua  as  their  scriptures.  Although 


Law 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon     211 

Josephus,  following  a  late  Jewish  tradition, 
dates  the  Samaritan  schism  at  about  330  B.  c., 
the  contemporary  evidence  of  Nehemiah  xiii. 
28  suggests  that  it  was  not  long  after  400.  It 
is  therefore  safe  to  conclude  that  by  350  B  c. 
the  first  five  books  of  our  Old  Testament  had 
not  only  been  singled  out  of  the  larger  literature 
of  the  race,  but  were  regarded  as  possessing  a 
unique  sanctity  and  authority. 

As  the  name  Laiv  suggests,  the  chief  reason  Principles 
for  this  was  the  fact  that  these  five  books  em-  "a^"" 
bodied  laws  long  since  accepted  as  binding.  The 
second  reason  was  probably  because  they  were 
by  current  tradition  ascribed  to  Moses.  The 
third,  and  not  the  least,  was,  doubtless,  because 
they  met  the  need  felt  by  the  community  for  a 
unified  and  authoritative  system  of  laws  and  for 
an  authentic  record  of  the  earlier  history  of 
their  race,  especially  that  concerning  the  origin 
of  their  beloved  institutions. 

The  priority  of  the  canon  of  the  law  is  also  Evidence 
proved   by  the  fact  that,  although  it  contains  WaS  first  °' 
some   of   the   later  Old  Testament  writings,  it  canon"ed 
stands  first,  not  only   in  position   but  in   the 
esteem   of  the   Jewish   race.      Furthermore,  it 
became  in  time  the  designation  of  all  the  Old 
Testament  canonical  writings.     The  term  Law 
is  thus  used  in  the  New  Testament  (e.#.,  John  x. 


Canoniza- 
tion of  the 
prophetic 
writings 


212    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

34,  xii.  34;  I  Cor.  xiv.  21),  in  the  Talmud,  and 
by  the  rabbis,  indicating  that  the  later  groups 
of  historical,  prophetic,  and  poetical  books  were 
simply  regarded  as  supplements. 

The  history  of  the  canonization  of  the  next 
group,  known  as  the  Prophets,  is  very  obscurely 
recorded,  and  this  largely  because  it  reached 
its  culmination  in  the  Greek  period,  concerning 
which  we  have  only  the  most  meagre  informa- 
tion. Here  analogy  with  the  history  of  the 
New  Testament  is  helpful.  The  same  influences 
which  led  the  early  Christians  to  add  the  Epis- 
tles and  Acts  undoubtedly  operated  upon  the 
minds  of  the  Jews.  The  Law  represented  only 
a  limited  period  in  their  national  and  religious 
history.  But  the  addition  of  the  early  prophetic 
and  legal  histories  to  the  detailed  laws  prepared 
the  way  for  the  expansion  of  the  canon.  This 
included  first,  the  four  historical  books,  Joshua, 
Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings,  with  the  exception 
of  Ruth.  These  were  designated  as  the  Former 
Prophets.  Thus  even  the  later  Jews  recog- 
nized their  true  character  and  authorship.  The 
second  division  of  the  Prophets  included  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  Book  of  the  Twelve, 
which  contained  the  minor  prophets. 

The  order  of  the  book  and  the  probabili- 
ties of  the  situation  suggest  that  the  Former 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon    213 

Prophets,  since  they  were  the  immediate  sequel  Evidence 
of  the  prophetic  histories  of  the  Pentateuch, 


and  recorded  the  deeds  of  such  heroes  as  David,  Pheticb°°k* 

'  were  JIT  st 


Solomon,  and  Isaiah,   were  added  first.  , 

the  Law 

they  also  bear  the  marks  of  late  priestly  revision, 
is  direct  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  they 
were  held  by  the  late  priestly  school  that  com- 
pleted the  canon  of  the  Law.  They  therefore 
may  have  been  added  as  early  as  300  B.  c. 
They  were  certainly  known  to  the  author  of 
Chronicles,  as  his  many  quotations  from  them 
show,  although  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  he 
would  have  felt  as  free  as  he  does  to  substitute 
the  testimony  of  later  tradition,  if  they  were 
regarded  as  equally  sacred  with  the  Law. 

The  reference  to  the  prediction  of  Jeremiah,  Reverence 
in  the  opening  verse  of  Ezra,  suggests  the  f&^f-  phetic  wm 
erence  with  which  the  author  of  Chronicles 
regarded  the  words  of  this  prophet.  The  post- 
exilic  Jews  never  ceased  to  revere  the  prophetic 
word.  The  popular  belief,  current  in  the  Greek 
period,  that  the  prophets  had  ceased  to  speak 
only  deepened  their  reverence  for  the  teachings 
of  Moses'  successors  (Deut.  xviii.  15-19).  The 
devotion  of  the  later  scribes  is  evinced  by  the 
scores  of  glosses  which  they  have  added  to 
the  older  prophecies.  It  is  manifest,  there- 
fore, how  strong  was  the  tendency,  even  in 


214    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

priestly   circles,   to  add  the    Prophets   to    the 
Law. 
Date  of  com-      The  process  was  probably  gradual  and  perhaps 

pletion  of  .1      ,        T  i 

the  prophetic  not  complete  until  the  Jews  had  learned  fully 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  their  ancient  Scrip- 
tures, after  martyrs  had  died  for  the  sacred 
writings  during  the  Maccabean  struggle.  Aside 
from  supplements  made  to  older  books,  as,  for 
example,  Zechariah  ix.-xiv.,  the  canon  of  the 
prophets  was  probably  closed  not  later  than 
200  B.  C.  From  direct  evidence  it  is  clear  that 
the  book  of  Daniel  (written  about  165  B.  c.)  did 
not  find  a  place  in  this  canon.  It  is  also  sig- 
nificant that  in  the  prologue  to  the  Greek  ver- 
sion of  Ben  Sira  or  Ecclesiasticus  (132  B.  c.) 
the  translator  refers  repeatedly  —  as  though 
they  were  then  regarded  as  of  equal  authority 
—  to  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  and  the  re»t  of 
the  books,  or  to  the  other  books  of  the  fathers. 
But  most  significant  of  all,  Ben  Sira,  who  wrote 
about  190  B.  c.,  includes  in  his  list  of  Israel's 
heroes  (xliv.-l.)  not  only  those  mentioned  in  the 
Torah,  but  also  David,  Solomon,  Hezekiah,  and 
the  chief  characters  in  the  Former  Prophets. 
Furthermore,  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel 
are  introduced  in  their  proper  settings,  and  the 
panegyric  closes  with  a  reference  to  the  twelve 
prophets  collectively,  indicating  that  Ben  Sira 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon     215 

was  also  acquainted  with  the  Latter  Prophets 
as  a  group. 

The  reference  to  the  rest  of  the  books  in  the  The 
prologue  to  Ben  Sira  indicates  that  even  before 
130  B.  C.  certain  other  writings  had  been  joined 
to  the  canon  of  the  Law.  Ben  Sira  himself,  °ld  Testa- 
to  judge  from  his  description  of  David  (cf. 
xlvii.  8,  9,  and  I  Chron.  25),  Zerubbabel,  Joshua, 
and  Nehemiah,  was  acquainted  with  the  books 
of  Chronicles,  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah.  Chapter 
xlvii.  8  apparently  contains  an  allusion  to  a 
hymn-book  attributed  to  David.  Evidently  he 
was  also  familiar  with  the  book  of  Proverbs, 
including  its  introductory  chapters.  Thus  we 
have  a  glimpse  of  the  beginning  of  that  third 
stage  in  the  canonization  of  the  Old  Testament 
which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  New,  continued  for 
fully  three  centuries. 

The  Psalter  doubtless  passed  through  differ-  Canonize 
ent  stages    of    canonization,   as   did    the   Old  falter  and 
Testament  itself.     The  earliest  collection  was, 

-  tions 

in  the  beginning,  probably  made  for  liturgical 
purposes,  and  its  adoption  in  the  service  of  the 
temple  was  practically  equivalent  to  canoniza- 
tion. When  successive  collections  were  added, 
they  too  were  thus  canonized.  The  result  was 
that  the  Psalter,  when  complete,  enjoyed  a  posi- 
tion somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Law  and  the 


216    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Prophets,  although  the  authority  of  each  rested 
upon  a  different  basis.  That  the  Psalter  was 
early  canonized  is  further  demonstrated  by  a 
quotation  in  I  Maccabees  vii.  17  (about  125 
B.  c.)  from  Psalm  Ixxix.  2,  3,  introduced  by 
the  words,  as  it  is  written  in  the  Scriptures. 
This  conclusion  is  also  supported  by  the  sig- 
nificant reference  in  the  New  Testament  to 
the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Psalms  (Lk. 
xxiv.  44).  Jesus'  use  of  the  Psalter  indicates 
that  in  his  day  its  canonicity  was  already  thor- 
oughly established.  Lamentations,  by  a  late 
tradition  attributed  to  Jeremiah,  was  probably 
also  canonized  contemporaneously  with  the 
Psalms. 

The  other  The  canonization  of  the  book  of  Proverbs,  like 
bfather/the  that  of  the  Psalter,  was  undoubtedly  by  succes- 
sive stages.  The  Jews  of  the  Greek  and  Mac- 
cabean  period  were  especially  appreciative  of  this 
type  of  literature,  and  it  was  doubtless  accorded 
its  position  of  authority  primarily  because  it  rang 
true  to  human  experience.  That  it  was  attrib- 
uted to  Solomon  also  told  in  its  favor.  Ben 
Sira's  indirect  testimony  suggests  that  it  and  the 
books  of  Chronicles,  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah,  which 
were  in  close  accord  with  the  point  of  view  of 
later  Judaism,  were  already  in  his  day  associated 
with  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  The  book  of 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon     217 

Ruth  was  probably  at  this  time  added  to  the 
other  historical  books. 

The   absence   of  any  reference  in   Ben  Sira  Canoniza- 
to  Daniel  is  significant.     The  first  allusion  to  it  bookof 
comes  from  the  last  half  of  the  second  century  Damel 
before  Christ.     First  Maccabees  i.  54  appears  to 
quote  the  prediction  of  Daniel  ix.  27,  and   in 
I  Maccabees  ii.   59,  60,  Daniel  and  his   three 
friends  are  held  up  as  noble  examples  of  virtue. 
Thus  it  would  seem  that  within  a  half  century 
after  the  book  of  Daniel  was  written  its  authority 
was   recognized.     In  New  Testament  times  its 
canonicity  is  fully  established  (<?.  <?.,  cf.  I  Cor. 
vi.  2,  and  Dan.  vii.  22). 

Concerning  the  canonicity  of  two  books,  Date  of  the 
Ecclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Songs  or  Canticles,  the'^ebrew 
the  opinions  of  the  rabbis  continued  to  differ  otd  Testu~ 

ment  canon 

until  the  close  of  the  first  Christian  century. 
From  the  Mishna  we  learn  that  the  school  of 
Shammai  accepted  Ecclesiastes,  while  that  of 
Hillel  rejected  it.  Finally,  in  a  conference  in 
Jamnia,  about  100  A.  D.,  the  two  schools  finally 
agreed  to  accept  both  books  as  canonical. 
From  Second  Esdras  and  Josephus,  however,  we 
learn  that  the  present  Hebrew  and  Protestant 
canon  of  the  Old  Testament  had  already  for 
some  time  been  practically  adopted  by  common 
consent. 


218    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 


Content!  of 
the  last 
group  of 
writings 


Difference! 
between  the 
Palestinian 
and  Alexan- 
drian 
canons 


The  last  collection,  which  includes  eleven 
books  known  as  the  Hagiographa  or  Sacred 
Writings,  constitutes  the  third  general  division 
of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  It  is  a  heterogeneous 
group  of  histories,  prophecies,  stories,  and  wis- 
dom books.  Some,  like  the  Psalter,  were,  as 
we  have  seen,  probably  canonized  as  early  as 
the  Prophets;  although  the  final  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament  was  not  closed  until  100  A.  D. 
Even  later  the  canonicity  of  Ecclesiastes,  the 
Song  of  Songs,  and  Esther  was  sometimes  ques- 
tioned ;  most  of  them  were  regarded  as  authori- 
tative as  early  as  100  B.  c.  Here,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  New  Testament,  the  real  decision  was  not 
the  work  of  any  school  or  council ;  but  gradu- 
ally, on  the  basis  of  their  intrinsic  merit,  the 
twenty-four  books  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  were 
singled  out  of  a  much  larger  literature  and 
recognized,  at  least  by  the  Jews  of  Palestine,  as 
the  authoritative  record  of  God's  revelation 
through  their  race. 

Jewish  tradition,  represented  by  Second  Esdras 
xiv.  and  the  Talmudic  treatise  Baba  Bathra  xv.  a, 
states  that  all  the  canonical  books  were  in  ex- 
istence in  the  time  of  Ezra.  While  the  tradition 
is  refuted  by  the  historical  facts,  it  appears  to 
have  influenced  the  Jews  of  Palestine  in  shaping 
their  canon ;  since  no  books  purporting  to  come 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon    219 

from  a  later  date  or  author  are  found  in  it.  The 
broader-minded  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  and  es- 
pecially Alexandria  and  the  early  Christian 
Church,  refused  to  be  bound  by  the  narrow  prin- 
ciple that  divine  revelation  ceased  with  Ezra. 
Accordingly  we  find  them  adopting  a  larger 
canon,  that  included  many  other  later  writings 
known  in  time  as  the  apocryphal  or  hidden 
books. 

These  consisted  of  three  genuine  works,  —  I  Additional 
and  II  Maccabees  and  Ben  Sira  or  Ecclesiasticus  ; 


two  didactic  stories,  —  Tobit  and  Judith  ;  four  christian 

CdflOH 

books  wrongly  ascribed  to  earlier  authors,  —  the 
Wisdom  of  Solomon,  Baruch,  the  Epistle  of 
Jeremy,  and  Second  Esdras  (Gk.  IV  Esdras)  ; 
and  four  additions  to  the  Hebrew  canonical 
books,  —  First  Esdras,  an  expansion  of  the  book 
of  Ezra,  the  Prayer  of  Manasses,  and  additions 
to  Esther  and  Daniel. 

As  is  well  known,  these  books  were  retained  History  of 
by  the  Christian  Church,  as  they  still  are  by  the  ryphal  books 
Roman  Catholic  and  Greek  churches,  until  the 
Protestant  reformers  relegated  them,  as  a  whole, 
to  a   secondary  place.      Ultimately  the   Bible 
societies,  during  the  first  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, ceased    to    print    them   in  the   ordinary 
editions  of  the  Bible.     The  result  is  that  the 
present  generation  has   almost  forgotten  their 


220    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

existence.  The  last  decade  or  two,  however, 
has  witnessed  a  significant  revival  of  interest 
among  the  scholars  of  Christendom,  and  the 
wholesome  tendency  to  restore  certain  of  the 
Apocrypha  to  the  working  Old  Testament  canon 
is  veiy  marked.  This  is  only  a  correction  of 
the  error  of  the  Protestant  reformers  in  esti- 
mating the  Apocryphal  books,  not  by  the  in- 
trinsic merit  of  each  individual  writing  but  of 
the  group  as  a  whole. 

Great  value  Some  of  the  Apocrypha  and  kindred  books, 
Jeivish  l  er  like  the  apocalypse  of  Enoch,  were  quoted  and 
writings  recognized  by  New  Testament  scholars  as  having 
authority  equal  to  that  of  the  other  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  The  rejection  of  I  and  II 
Maccabees  and  Ben  Sira  from  the  Palestinian 
canon  because  they  were  written  after  the  days 
of  Ezra  and  not  associated  with  the  names  of 
any  early  Old  Testament  worthies,  was  due 
to  a  narrow  conception  of  divine  revelation, 
directly  contrary  to  that  of  Christianity  which 
recognized  the  latest  as  the  noblest.  These 
later  Jewish  writings  also  bridge  the  two 
centuries  which  otherwise  yawn  between  the 
two  Testaments  —  two  centuries  of  superlative 
importance  both  historically  and  religiously, 
witnessing  as  they  do  the  final  development  of 
the  life  and  thought  of  Judaism  and  the  rise 


Formation  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon     221 

of  those  conditions  and  beliefs  which  loom  so 
large  in  the  New  Testament. 

While  they  will  always  be  of  great  value  in  The  larger 

—       ....,.  -.  working 

the  study  of  later  Jewish  history,  literature,  and  canon  of 
religion,  the  majority  of  the  apocryphal  books  Testament 
undoubtedly  belong  in  the  secondary  group  to 
which  the  Palestinian  Jews  and  the  Protestant 
reformers  assigned  them.  Three  or  four,  how- 
ever, tested  by  the  ultimate  principles  of  canon- 
icity,  are  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  certain  books 
like  Chronicles,  Esther,  and  Ecclesiastes.  First 
Maccabees  records  one  of  the  most  important 
crises  in  Israelish  history.  As  a  faithful  his- 
torical writing,  it  is  hardly  equalled  in  ancient 
literature.  Its  spirit  is  also  genuinely  religious. 
The  later  but  parallel  history  of  II  Macca- 
bees is  not  the  equal  of  the  first,  although  its 
religious  purpose  is  more  pronounced.  Its  his- 
torical character,  style,  aim,  and  point  of  view 
are  strikingly  similar  to  those  of  the  book  of 
Chronicles.  The  proverbs  of  Ben  Sira,  while 
not  all  of  the  same  value,  yet  abound  in  noble 
and  practical  teachings,  very  similar  to  those 
in  the  book  of  Proverbs.  Not  only  does  the 
Wisdom  of  Solomon  contain  many  exalted  and 
spiritual  passages,  but  it  is  also  of  unique  im- 
portance because  it  represents  that  wonderful 
fusion  of  the  best  elements  in  Hebrew  and 


222     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Hellenic  thought  which  formed  the  background 
of  Christianity.  Probably  the  Church  will  ulti- 
mately restore  to  its  larger  working  Old  Testa- 
ment canon  the  beautiful  Prayer  of  Manasses, 
already  largely  adopted  in  the  prayer-book  of 
the  Anglican  Church. 

Condvrim  Our  rapid  historical  study  has  revealed  the 
unity  and  the  variety  of  teaching  reflected  in  the 
Old  Testament,  and  has  suggested  its  real  place 
in  the  revelation  of  the  past  and  its  true  place 
in  the  life  of  to-day.  This  older  testament  is 
the  record  of  God's  gradual  revelation  of  him- 
self through  the  history  of  the  Israelitish  race 
and  the  experiences  and  minds  of  countless  men 
and  women  whose  spiritual  eyes  were  open  and 
whose  ears  were  attentive  to  divine  truth.  The 
same  benign  Father  who  has  always  spoken 
to  his  children  has  influenced  them  also  to 
recognize  the  writings  that  most  faithfully  and 
fully  record  the  spiritual  truth  thus  revealed. 
Had  the  task  been  entrusted  to  our  own  or  later 
generations,  it  is  not  probable  that  the  result 
would  have  differed  in  any  important  essential. 
For  a  few  brief  centuries  false  theories  and 
traditions  may  partially  obscure  the  truth,  but 
these,  like  the  mists  of  morning,  are  sure  in 
time  to  melt  away  and  reveal  the  eternal  veri- 
ties in  their  sublime  beauty  and  grandeur. 


XIV 

THE  INTERPRETATION   OF  THE 

EARLY   NARRATIVES   OF   THE 

OLD   TESTAMENT 


XIV 

THE    INTERPRETATION    OF    THE 

EARLY  NARRATIVES   OF  THE 

OLD   TESTAMENT 

OF  all  the  different  groups  of  writings  in  the  Importance 
Old  Testament,  undoubtedly  the  early  narra-  | 
tives  found  in  the  first  seven  books  present  the  as  a  umt 
most  perplexing  problems.  This  is  primarily 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  subject  to 
a  long  process  of  editorial  revision  by  which 
stories,  some  very  old  and  others  very  late  and 
written  from  a  very  different  point  of  view, 
have  been  closely  joined  together.  While  there 
is  a  distinct  aim  and  unity  in  the  whole,  in 
approaching  them  it  is  simplest  to  study  each 
story  as  a  unit  in  itself.  Not  only  is  this  prac- 
tical, but  it  is  justified  by  the  fact  that  almost 
every  story  was  once  current  in  independent 
form.  Often,  as  in  the  case  of  the  accounts  of 
creation  and  the  flood,  it  is  possible  to  recover 
the  older  versions  and  even  to  trace  their  origin 
and  earlier  history. 

16 


226    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Classified-  The  first  essential,  however,  is  to  determine 

sary  to  the  point  .of  view  and  purpose  of  the  biblical 

iheTpolntof  W1'iter,  who  has  taken  the  given  story  from  the 

view  of  his  contemporaries  and  incorporated  it  in 


the  cycle  of  stories  in  which  it  is  now  found. 
Here  the  language,  literary  style,  theme,  and 
conceptions  of  God  and  religion  are  the  chief 
guides.  If,  as  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  the 
Deity  is  always  designated  as  Grod  or  Elohim  ; 
if  the  literary  style  is  formal,  repetitious,  and 
generic  ;  if  the  theme  is  the  origin  of  an  insti- 
tution like  the  Sabbath  ;  and  if  the  Deity  is  con- 
ceived of  as  a  spirit,  accomplishing  his  purpose 
by  progressive  stages  through  the  agency  of 
natural  forces,  —  it  is  not  difficult  to  recognize 
at  once  the  work  of  a  late  priestly  writer.  If, 
on  the  contrary,  as  in  Genesis  ii.  4b  to  iii.  24, 
Jehovah  is  the  name  of  the  Deity  ;  if  the  style  is 
vivid,  picturesque,  and  flowing  ;  if  the  interest 
centres  in  certain  individuals  instead  of  spe- 
cies ;  if  the  themes  vitally  concern  the  spiritual 
life  of  man  ;  if  the  Deity  is  conceived  of  after 
human  analogies,  as  intimately  associating  with 
men,  and  as  revealing  himself  directly  to  them 
by  word  and  visible  presence,  —  the  work  of  an 
early  prophetic  writer  is  evidently  before  us. 

The  identification  of  the  point  of  view  of  the 
author  at  once  puts  us  into  appreciative  sym- 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives     227 

pathy  with  him.    It  also  enables  us  intelligently  Value  of 
to  interpret  his  words  and  figures.     Knowing,  author's 
for  example,  that  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis point  °^m 
was  written  by  a  priest  who  lived  long  after 
his  race  had  ceased  to  think  of  God  as  having 
a  body  like  a  man,  we  cannot  make  the  common 
mistake  of  interpreting  verse  26  as  implying 
physical  likeness.     Rather,  as  his  conception  of 
God  as  a  spirit  demands  and  the  latter  part  of 
the  verse  proves,  his  sublime  teaching  is  that 
man,  the  end   and  culmination   of   the   entire 
work  of  creation,  is  like  his  Creator,  a  spiritual 
being,  endowed  with  a  mind  and  a  will,  and 
as  God's  viceregent,  is  divinely  commanded  to 
rule  over  all  created  things. 

Where   two   distinct   versions   of    the   same  Practical 

...  ,  i«i  value  of  the 

narrative  have  been  amalgamated  in  the  process  critical 
of  editorial  revision,  the  analysis  of  the  original  ana  ysis 
sources  is  indispensable  to  a  true  understanding 
and  interpretation  of  the  thought  of  the  prophet 
and  priest  who  have  each  utilized  the  ancient 
story, — as,  for  example,  that  of  the  flood,  —  to 
illustrate  the  inevitable  consequences  of  sin  and 
God's  personal  interest  in  mankind.  Here  the 
culminating  purpose  of  the  prophet,  however, 
is  to  proclaim  Jehovah's  gracious  promise  that 
he  will  never  thus  again  destroy  man  or  living 
things ;  that  (viii.  21,  22) : 


228    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

While  the  earth  remains, 
Seedtime  and  harvest, 
Cold  and  heat, 
Summer  and  winter, 
Day  and  night 
Shall  not  cease. 

The  priest,  on  the  other  hand,  is  interested 
in  the  renewal  of  the  covenant  which  insures 
man's  dominion  over  the  natural  world,  and  in 
the  sanctity  of  blood,  and  in  the  primitive, 
divine  origin  of  the  command,  Thou  shalt  not 
kill  (ix.  1-6). 

The  neces-  Fortunately  the  work  of  analysis  has  been 
far-intelligent  so  thoroughly  carried  out  during  the  last  cen- 
*urv  *kat  ^ere  is  practical  agreement  among 
the  Christian  scholars  of  the  world  on  the 
essential  questions.  These  results  are  now  also 
available  in  popular  form,  so  that,  without 
wasting  time  on  technicalities,  the  pastor  and 
teacher  of  to-day  can  utilize  them  as  the  basis 
for  more  important  study  and  teaching.  The 
origin,  the  literary  form,  and  the  scientific  and 
historical  accuracy  of  each  narrative  all  suggest 
definite  and  interesting  lines  of  study,  but, 
as  has  been  noted  (p.  106),  these  are  of  second- 
ary value  compared  with  the  religious  truths 
that  each  story  is  intended  to  illustrate. 

Since   these  stories  were  preserved  because 
they  conserve  this  higher  purpose,  it  is  always 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives    229 

safe  to  ask,  What  are  their  distinctive  contri-  Principles  oj 
butions  to  the  grand  total  of  ethical  and  spir-  ^preuition 
itual  teaching  found  in  the  Old  Testament? 
At  the  same  time  it  is  exceedingly  important 
always  to  be  sure  to  read  the  teachings  out  of, 
and  not  into,  a  given  narrative.  By  unnatural 
and  fanciful  interpretation  of  these  simple  stories 
the  friends  of  the  Bible  in  the  past  have  often 
wronged  it  more  than  have  its  avowed  foes. 
Each  story,  like  the  parables  of  Jesus,  had  its 
one  or  two  central  teachings,  usually  conveyed 
to  the  mind  by  implication  rather  than  by  direct 
statement.  The  characters  who  figure  in  them 
by  their  words  and  deeds  proclaim  the  practical 
truths  and  embody  the  ideals  in  the  minds  of 
the  ancient  prophets  and  priests. 

The  heterogeneous  group  of  stories  found  in  Theme  of 
Genesis  i,-xi.  constitute  the  general  introduc-  and  Hi. 
tion  to  the  succeeding  narratives  which  gather 
about  the  names  of  the  traditional  ancestors 
of  the  Hebrews.  Each  of  these  originally  in- 
dependent stories  illustrates  its  own  peculiar 
religious  teachings.  None  has  taken  a  deeper 
hold  on  the  imagination  and  made  a  deeper  im- 
pression on  the  thought  and  literature  of  the 
world  than  that  which  is  found  in  the  second 
and  third  chapters  of  Genesis.  Its  theme  — 
the  origin  and  nature  and  consequences  of  sin 


230    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

—  is  of  vital,  personal  interest  to  every  man  of 
every  age. 
The  prob-         The  problem  that  confronted  the  early  Judean 

lemofpre-  .  .       ,  .        ...    ... 

tenting  it  in  prophet  was  to  present  in  form  intelligible  to 
"r{liqti>i*to  ^ie  minds  of  his  primitive  readers  a  subject  that 
early  man  ^as  taxed  to  the  utmost  the  resources  of  the 
world's  greatest  philosophers 'and  theologians. 
The  task  was  comparable  to  that  which  fell  to 
the  Master  when  he  sought  to  make  clear  to  his 
untutored  disciples  the  real  nature  of  the  mighty 
tempest  of  temptation  that  raged  in  his  soul  at 
the  beginning,  and,  indeed,  later  in  his  ministry. 
The  method  adopted  was  strikingly  similar  in 
each  case.  If  the  language  of  modern  philos- 
ophy and  psychology  had  been  at  the  command 
of  these  great  religious  teachers,  it  would  have 
but  obscured  the  great  truths.  These  truths 
must  be  made  objective ;  they  must  be  expressed 
in  the  familiar  language  of  the  people.  Even 
the  inner  struggle  of  conflicting  motives  must 
be  presented  in  words  so  simple  that  a  child 
could  understand. 

Pictorial          The  second  and  third   chapters  of   Genesis 

?/' '-awn from  record    the   effective    way   in   which    a    great 

tradition       ear^7  prophet  dealt  with  his  difficult  problem. 

From  the  lips  of  the  people  he  took  fragments 

of  ancient  Semitic  traditions.     Almost  all  of  the 

elements  which  enter  into  the  story  of  man's  fall 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives     231 

have  been  traced  to  far  earlier  sources ;  but  the 
narrative  in  its  present  unity  and  suggestiveness 
never  has  and  never  will  be  found  outside  the 
Bible.  How  far  the  prophet  adapted  to  his 
higher  purpose  the  current  Hebrew  version  can 
not  be  absolutely  determined.  The  fact  alone 
remains  that  it  is  one  of  the  truest  bits  of  his- 
tory in  the  Old  Testament,  and  this  not  because 
it  is  a  leaf  from  the  diary  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
but  because  it  concretely  and  faithfully  portrays 
universal  human  experience. 

In  the  simple  language  of  popular  tradition  Creation  of 
it  proclaims,  among  other  truths,  that  Jehovah,  ™ements  net 
Israel's  God,  created  man,  breathing  into  him 
from  his  own  nostrils  the  vital  principle  of 
life  and  making  him  the  commanding  figure  in 
the  universe ;  then  that  the  Creator  graciously 
provided  all  that  was  needful  and  best  for 
his  true  physical  and  spiritual  development. 
Incidentally  the  prophet  calls  attention  to  that 
innate  and  divine  basis  of  the  marriage  bond 
which  Jesus  re-emphasizes  (Matt.  xix.  4-6). 
Physical  death,  according  to  the  story  in  its 
present  form,  was  not  a  necessary  part  of 
Jehovah's  plan;  the  implication  is  that  man 
would  not  die  while  he  remained  in  the  garden 
and  ate  of  the  life-giving  tree.  Temptation  is 
not  in  itself  evil,  but  necessary,  if  man  is  to 


232    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

develop  positive  virtue,  for  beside  the  tree  of 
life  grows  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  with  its  attractive,  alluring  fruit 
guarded  by  the  divine  prohibition. 

The  struggle  The  elements  of  the  temptation  are  all  pre- 
woman's  sented  in  chapter  ii.,  but  the  serpent,  the  crafti- 
est of  animals,  in  his  conversation  with  the 
woman  is  required  to  make  clear  and  objective 
the  real  nature  of  the  conflict  within  her  mind. 
The  r6le  of  the  serpent  is  the  opposite  of  that 
of  Balaam's  ass,  which  figures  in  a  story  which 
comes  from  the  same  early  Judean  prophetic 
school.  In  the  conversation  between  the  woman 
and  the  serpent  the  true  character  of  all  temp- 
tation is  revealed:  it  is  the  necessity  of  choos- 
ing between  two  courses  of  conduct  neither  of 
which  is  altogether  bad.  Curiosity,  which  is 
the  guide  to  all  knowledge,  the  beauty  of  the 
apple,  which  appeals  to  the  aesthetic  sense,  and 
physical  appetite,  not  in  itself  bad,  —  all  these 
powerfully  attracted  the  Oriental  woman  of  the 
ancient  story.  On  the  other  side  she  felt  the 
compelling  power  of  love  and  gratitude  and 
the  definite  divine  command. 
The  eucnce  The  prophet  saw  clearly  that  all  the  elements 

of*  all 

temptation  of  temptation  are  within  man — a  truth  some- 
times obscured  in  later  Jewish  thought.  Milton 
has  also  led  us  astray  in  identifying  the  crafty 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives     233 

serpent  with  the  Satan  of  later  Judaism.  The 
prophet  graphically  presents  another  great  fact 
of  human  experience,  namely,  that  what  is  one 
man's  temptation  is  not  another's,  that  the 
temptation  to  be  real  must  appeal  to  the  one 
tested.  The  crafty  serpent  is  not  represented 
as  speaking  to  the  man ;  he  would  probably  have 
turned  away  in  loathing.  His  wife,  she  who  had 
already  sinned,  the  one  whom  Jehovah  had  given 
him  as  a  helpmeet,  herself  appeals  to  the  sense 
of  chivalry  within  him.  Hence  the  conflict 
rages  in  his  soul  between  love  and  obligation 
to  Jehovah  and  his  natural  affection  and  ap- 
parent duty  to  his  wife.  Thus  in  all  tempta- 
tion the  diviner  impulses  struggle  with  those 
which  are  not  in  themselves  necessarily  wrong 
but  only  baser  by  contrast.  Duty  is  the  call 
of  the  diviner,  sin  is  the  yielding  to  the  baser, 
motives. 

The  Hebrew  word  for  sin,  which  means  the  The  reat 

i    -    i'  wa*ur*  °f 
missing  of  the  mark  set  up  before  each  indi-  sin 

vidual,  is  the  only  altogether  satisfactory  defi- 
nition of  sin  ever  devised,  for  it  absolutely  fits 
the  facts  of  human  experience.  Deflection  from 
the  moral  standard  set  up  by  each  man's  con- 
science, even  though  his  resulting  act  seem  in 
itself  noble,  is  for  him  a  sin.  Although  the 
influences  which  led  the  man  and  woman  of 


234    Origin  and  Value  of  tfie  Old  Testament 

the  story  to  disobey  were  exceedingly  strong, 
the  higher  standard  had  been  set  up,  and  in 
falling  short  of  it  they  sinned.  Thus  sin  is 
not  God's  but  man's  creation,  and  results  from 
the  deliberate  choice  of  what  the  sinner  knows 
to  be  wrong. 

7'A«  effects  In  the  same  simple  yet  powerful  way  the 
prophet  depicts  the  inevitable  consequences  of 
sin.  At  every  point  the  picture  is  true  to  uni- 
versal experience.  The  most  appalling  effect 
of  a  wrong  act  is  that  it  destroys  peace  and 
purity  of  mind.  It  also  makes  cowards  of  brave 
men,  and  the  presence  and  tender  affection  of 
the  one  wronged  suddenly  become  intolerable. 
Sin  also  begets  sin.  To  the  cowering  fugitives 
Jehovah  comes,  as  he  always  does,  with  a  mes- 
sage intended  to  evoke  a  frank  confession  which 
would  tear  down  the  hideous  barrier  that  their 
sin  had  reared  between  himself  and  them ;  but, 
like  most  foolish,  blind  Adams  and  Eves,  they 
hug  their  crime  to  their  breasts  and  raise  the 
barrier  heaven  high  by  trying  to  excuse  their 
guilt.  Thus  they  pronounce  their  own  doom. 
For  God  himself  only  one  course  of  action  re- 
mains :  it  is  to  send  them  forth  from  his  pres- 
ence and  from  the  life-giving  tree,  out  into  the 
school  of  hardship  and  bitter  pain,  that  there 
they  may  learn  the  lessons  which  are  necessary 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives     235 

before  they  can  again  become  citizens  of  the 
true  Garden  of  Eden. 

Two  simple  yet  exceedingly  significant  touches  The  sequel 
lighten  the  gloom  of  this  universal  tragedy  of  o/wan'sya/ 
human  life.  The  one  is  that  for  the  guilty,  un- 
repentant pair,  Jehovah  himself  made  tunics  of 
skins  to  protect  them  from  the  inclemency  of 
their  new  life,  —  evidence  that  his  love  and  care 
still  went  with  them.  The  other  is  the  impli- 
cation that  the  true  garden  of  Eden  was  still 
to  be  found  on  earth,  and  was  closed  simply  to 
the  guilty  and  unrepentant.  The  Bible  is  the 
record  of  how  men  learned  the  all-important 
lessons  in  the  painful  school  of  experience. 
Israel's  teachers,  each  in  his  characteristic 
way,  led  their  race  on  toward  the  common 
goal.  The  Gospels  tell  of  how  a  man,  tempted 
in  all  points  as  we  are  in  a  distant  day  and  land 
found  his  way  again  into  the  abiding  presence 
of  God.  He  was  one  with  the  Father,  not  because 
he  did  not  meet  temptation  in  all  its  power,  but 
because,  unlike  the  actors  in  the  primitive  story, 
and  all  other  participants  in  the  drama  of  life, 
he  yielded  only  to  the  guidance  of  divine  im- 
pulses. Not  content  with  achieving  the  goal 
himself,  he  gave  his  energies  and  his  life  to 
showing  others  how  they  also  might  overcome 
the  baser  impulses  within  them  and  find  their 


286    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

way  to  God's  presence  and  become  one  with 
him.  Thus,  because  of  what  he  did  and  said 
and  was,  he  forever  vindicated  his  title  of 
Saviour  of  Mankind. 

No  other  early  Old  Testament  narrative  is 
Tnqs'of'other  P6^?8  so  full  °f  ricn  spiritual  suggestion  as 
early  ttoriea  the  one  just  considered,  and  yet  each  has  its 
valuable  contribution.  Even  such  a  story  as 
that  of  the  killing  of  Abel  by  Cain  forcibly 
teaches  the  great  prophetic  truth  that  it  is  not 
the  form  of  the  offering,  but  the  character  and 
deeds  back  of  the  sacrifice,  that  determine  Je- 
hovah's favor  or  disfavor  (iv.  7).  Graphically 
it  sets  forth  the  spirit  that  prompts  the  great- 
est of  crimes.  In  contrast  to  Cain,  defiant  yet 
pursued  by  haunting  fear  of  vengeance,  it  also 
presents  the  divine  tenderness  and  mercy  in 
granting  him  a  tribal  mark  to  protect  him  from 
the  hand  of  man.  The  similar  story  of  Noah, 
the  first  vineyard-keeper,  preaches  the  first 
temperance  sermon  in  all  literature,  and  also 
suggests  the  inevitable  consequences  of  moral 
depravity  so  forcibly  illustrated  in  the  history 
of  the  ancient  Canaanites.  Even  the  prosaic 
table  of  the  nations  in  Genesis  x.  emphasizes 
the  conception  of  the  unity  of  the  human  family 
which  was  destined  in  time  to  become  the  basis 
of  Israel's  belated  missionary  activity. 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives    237 

When  we  pass  to  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Id«al$  pre- 
Genesis  the  independent  stories  coalesce  into  s™riy  p^. 
cycles,  and  each  cycle,  as  well  as  each  narra- 
tive,  has  its  own  religious  purpose.  In  defi- 
nite  outlines  each  successive  group  of  teachers 
painted  the  character  of  Abraham,  the  tradi- 
tional father  of  the  Israelitish  race,  and  held 
it  up  before  their  own  and  succeeding  genera- 
tions as  a  perpetual  example  and  inspiration. 
In  the  early  Judean  prophetic  narratives  he  is 
pictured  as  the  friend  of  Jehovah.  His  own 
material  interests  are  entirely  secondary,  as 
illustrated  in  his  dealing  with  Lot.  Without 
hesitation  he  leaves  home  and  kindred  behind, 
for  his  dominating  purpose  in  life  is  simply  to 
know  and  do  the  will  of  Jehovah.  To  this  end 
he  rears  altars  throughout  the  land  of  Canaan. 
His  chief  joy  is  in  communion  with  God  and 
in  the  promises  to  be  realized  in  his  descend- 
ants. Through  warring,  hostile  Canaan  he 
passes  unscathed,  for  his  eyes  are  fixed  on 
things  heavenly. 

It  matters  little  whether  or  not,  far  back  in 
the  primitive  days  of  Israel's  history,  a  Bedouin  Cfl 
sheik  anticipated  in  actual  character  and  life  all 
that  was  gradually  revealed  to  the  prophets  of 
a  much  later  age.  The  supremely  significant 
fact  is  that  the  noble  ideal  of  Israel's  earliest 


238    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

teachers  was  thus  vividly  and  concretely  em- 
bodied in  the  portrait  of  him  whom  the  Hebrews 
regarded  with  pride  and  adoration  as  the  founder 
of  their  race.  In  Hosea  and  Jeremiah,  and  less 
imperfectly  in  the  nation  as  a  whole,  the  ideal 
in  time  became  an  historical  reality. 
Later  por-  The  early  Ephraimite  school  of  writers  pic- 

traits  of  A  i       i  i          ,r*  i 

Abraham  ture  Abraham  as  a  prophet  (Gen.  xx.  7),  and 
therefore  as  an  exemplification  of  their  highest 
ideal.  In  the  remarkable  fourteenth  chapter  of 
Genesis  he  is  a  courageous,  chivalrous  knight, 
attacking  with  a  handful  of  followers  the  allied 
armies  of  the  most  powerful  kings  of  his  day. 
Returning  victorious,  he  restores  the  spoil  to 
the  plundered  and  gives  a  princely  gift  to  the 
priest  of  the  local  sanctuary.  In  the  later 
priestly  narratives  the  picture  suddenly  changes, 
and  Abraham  figures  as  the  faithful  servant  of 
the  law,  with  whom  originates  the  rite  of  cir- 
cumcision, the  seal  of  a  new  covenant  (xvii.). 
Later  Jewish  and  Moslem  traditions  each  have 
their  characteristic  portrait.  One,  which  pic- 
tures him  as  in  heaven  the  protector  of  the 
faithful,  is  reflected  in  the  New  Testament 
(Luke  xvi.  23-30).  Thus  each  succeeding  age 
and  group  of  teachers  made  him  the  embodi- 
ment and  supreme  illustration  of  its  noblest 
ideals,  and .  it  is  this  ideal  element  that  gives 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives     239 

the  Old   Testament  stories   their  permanently 
practical  value. 

Having  noted  the  teachings  that  each  indi-  Practical 
vidual  story  and  the  cycle  as  a  whole  conveyed  ffo 
to  the  minds  of  their  first  readers,  it  only  re-  stories 
mains  for  the  teacher  of  to-day  to  translate 
them  into  modern  terms.  Some  of  the  most 
important  implications  of  the  Abraham  stories 
thus  interpreted  are,  for  example :  (1)  God  calls 
each  man  to  a  high  mission.  (2)  He  will  guide 
and  care  for  those  who  are  responsive.  (3)  To 
those  who  seek  to  know  him  intimately,  and  to 
do  his  will,  he  will  reveal  himself  in  fullest 
measure,  and  for  such  he  has  in  store  his  rich- 
est blessings.  (4)  He  that  findeth  his  life  (Lot) 
shall  lose  it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  (Abraham) 
shall  find  it. 

The  Jacob  and  Esau  stories  contain  marvel-  Significance 
lously  exact  and  realistic  portraits  of  the  two  acferof™ 
races  (the  Israelites  and  the  Edomites)  that  they  Esau 
respectively  represent.      Of  the  two  brothers, 
Esau   is   in   many   ways   the    more   attractive. 
He  suggests  the  open  air  and  the  fields,  where 
he  loved  to  hunt.    He  is  easy-going,  ingenuous, 
and  impulsive.    His  faults  are  those  of  not  being 
or  doing.     As  long  as  he  had  enough  to  eat  and 
was  comfortable,  he  was  contented.     He  is  the 
type  of  the  world's  drifters.     Since  Aram  was 


240    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

far  distant  he  disregards  the  wishes  of  his  par- 
ents and  marries  one  of  the  daughters  of  the 
land.  No  ambition  stirred  him  and  no  devotion 
to  Jehovah  or  to  the  ideals  of  his  race  gave  con- 
tent and  direction  to  his  life.  Thus  he  remained 
a  laggard,  and  the  half-nomadic,  robber  people 
that  he  represented  became  but  a  stagnant  pool, 
compared  with  the  onrushing  stream  of  Israel's 
life. 

Jacob't  Jacob's  faults  are  also  presented  by  the  early 

'au  prophets  with  an  astonishing  fidelity.      Rarely 

does  a  race  early  in  its  history  have  a  portrait 
of  its  weaknesses  as  well  as  its  strength  held  up 
thus  prominently  before  its  eyes.  Jacob  is  the 
antithesis  of  Esau.  While  his  brother  was 
hunting  care-free  in  the  fields,  he  was  at  home 
plotting  how  he  could  further  his  own  interests. 
When  the  opportunity  offers,  he  manifests  a 
cold,  calculating  shrewdness.  To  make  good 
the  title  to  the  birthright  thus  acquired  he  does 
not  hesitate  to  resort  to  fraud  and  lying.  Then 
he  flees,  pursued  by  his  own  guilty  conscience, 
and,  tricked  by  Laban,  he  serves  as  a  slave  four- 
teen years  to  win  the  wife  whom  he  loves.  At 
last,  again  a  fugitive  from  the  consequences  of 
his  own  questionable  dealing,  he  returns  with 
quaking  heart  to  face  the  brother  that  he  had 
wronged. 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives    241 

The  character  is  far  from  a  perfect  one,  and  The  dementt 
yet  the  ancient  stories  suggest  its  elements  of  °£*f™ael's 
strength.  By  nature  he  was  selfish  and  crafty;  character 
and  yet  he  has  what  Esau  fatally  lacks :  energy, 
persistency,  and  a  commanding  ambition.  From 
the  first  his  ambition  looks  beyond  himself  to 
the  future  of  his  descendants.  Measured  by 
our  modern  standards,  his  religious  professions 
seem  only  hypocrisy;  but  as  we  analyze  his 
character  we  find  that  a  faith  in  Jehovah, 
narrow  and  selfish  though  it  be,  was  ever  his 
guiding  star.  Out  of  the  tortuous  windings 
of  his  earlier  years  it  ultimately  led  him  to  a 
calm  old  age.  Imperfect  though  his  character 
was,  like  that  of  the  race  which  he  represented, 
the  significant  fact  is  that  God  ever  cared  for 
him  and  was  able  to  utilize  him  as  an  agent  in 
divine  revelation. 

Even  more  obvious  and  universal   are  the  The  noble 
practical    lessons    illustrated    by    the    Joseph  the  Joseph 
stories.      In    the    early    prophetic    narratives,  stories 
Abraham  is  the  perfect  servant  of  God,  Jacob 
the  type  of  the  Israelitish  race,  but  Joseph  is 
the  ideal  man  of  affairs.     Graphically  the  suc- 
cessive stories  picture  the  man  in  his  making 
and  reveal  his  true  character.      He  is  simple, 
affectionate,  and  yet  strongly  ambitious.     His 
day-dreams   make  him  odious,  as  in  the  case 
16 


242    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

of  many  a  boy  to-day,  to  his  unimaginative 
brothers.  A  seemingly  hard  fate  rudely  snatches 
him  from  the  enervating  influences  of  his  child- 
hood home  and  places  him  in  the  severe  school 
of  experience,  where  he  is  tested  and  trained. 
It  also  opens  wide  the  door  of  opportunity. 
Fidelity  to  every  interest  and  an  unselfish  re- 
sponse to  every  opportunity  for  service  soon 
bring  him  into  the  presence  of  the  Pharaoh. 
His  judicious  counsels,  diplomacy,  and  organiz- 
ing ability  win  for  him  the  highest  honors 
Egypt  can  confer.  With  modesty  and  fidelity 
he  endures  this  supreme  test  —  success.  Toward 
his  brothers,  who  had  bitterly  wronged  him,  he 
is  nobly  magnanimous,  and  to  his  kinsmen,  who 
belong  to  the  shepherd  class  especially  despised 
as  boors  by  the  cultured  Egyptians,  he  is  loyal 
and  considerate.  Above  all,  not  by  professions, 
but  by  deeds,  he  reveals  the  true  source  of  his 
strength,  —  a  natural  faith  in  the  God  of  his 
race  and  an  unfailing  loyalty  to  him. 
Conclusion  In  the  same  way  Moses,  the  exodus,  and  the 
great  men  and  events  of  Israel's  dramatic  his- 
tory, all  have  a  religious  importance  and  signifi- 
cance far  surpassing  the  merely  historical.  At 
the  same  time  the  methods  of  modern  literary 
and  historical  investigation  reveal  rather  than 
conceal  the  deeper  spiritual  truths  that  they 


Interpretation  of  its  Early  Narratives    243 

illustrate.  The  more  light  that  can  be  turned 
upon  them  the  more  clearly  will  their  essential 
teachings  stand  forth.  Like  the  Old  Testament 
as  a  whole,  they  grew  up  out  of  real  life  and 
truly  reflect  and  interpret  it,  and  therefore  have 
a  living,  vital  message  to  life  to-day.  Any  in- 
terpretation that  does  not  ring  true  to  life  may 
well  be  questioned.  Finally,  the  authority  of 
these  ancient  narratives  depends  not  upon  the 
historical  or  scientific  accuracy  of  the  individual 
story  that  is  used  as  an  illustration,  but  upon 
the  fact  that  through  the  experiences  and  hearts 
of  those  who  employed  them  God.  was  seeking 
to  make  men  free  by  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth. 


XV 

PRACTICAL  METHODS  OF  STUDY- 
ING THE  OLD   TESTAMENT 


XV 

PRACTICAL  METHODS  OF  STUDYING 
THE   OLD   TESTAMENT 

THE  Old  Testament  may  be  studied  as  litera-  The  various 
ture,  as  history,  as  the  record  of  an  important  approach 
stage  in  the  evolution  of  religion,  as  the  revela- 
tion of  God  to  the  race,  or  as  a  practical  aid  to 
the  individual  in  living  the  true  life.  Each 
angle  of  approach  calls  for  different  methods 
and  yields  its  correspondingly  rich  results. 
Studied  in  accordance  with  the  canons  of 
modern  literary  investigation,  a  literature  is 
disclosed  of  surpassing  variety,  beauty,  and 
fascination.  After  the  principles  of  historical 
criticism  have  been  vigorously  applied,  the  Old 
Testament  is  found  to  contain  some  of  the  most 
important  and  authentic  historical  data  that  have 
come  down  to  us  from  antiquity.  To  the  gen- 
eral student  of  religion  there  is  no  group  of 
writings  that  equals  in  value  those  included 
in  these  ancient  Scriptures.  As  a  simple,  clear 
revelation  of  the  character  and  will  of  the 
Divine  Ruler,  present  and  regnant  in  all  life, 
the  Old  Testament  is  surpassed  by  only  one 


248    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

other  volume,  and  that  is  its  complement,  the 
New. 

The  supreme      It  is,  however,  as  the  guide  to  right  thinking, 

"Testament     an^  b^g*  an^  acting,  that  the  man  of  God  may 

study  fo  perfectt   completely  equipped  for  every  good 

work,  that  the  Old  Testament  is  and  always 

will  be  studied  by  the  majority  of  people.     In 

so  doing  they  will  be  realizing  its  primary  and 

supreme  purpose.     Like  true  religion,  it  is  not 

an  end  in  itself,  but  simply  an  effective  force, 

drawing  and  binding  individual  men  to  God  and 

to  the  right.    Any  method  of  study  that  fails  to 

attain  this  definite  and  practical  end  does  not 

achieve  the   chief  aim  of  the   Old   Testament 

writings. 

Necessity  of      This  practical  and  personal   end,   however, 

studying  the  ,  .       .  .  _.     . 

Old  Testa-    cannot  be  attained  at  a  leap.     It  is  impossible 


°      to  achieve  the  best  results  by  taking  a  truth  or 
hole  a  passage  nere  and  there  and  applying  it  at  once 

to  the  individual.  Both  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  individual  are  something  organic.  Each 
book  has  a  unity  and  a  history  that  must  be 
understood,  if  a  given  passage  is  to  be  fairly 
interpreted  or  its  truths  intelligently  applied. 
Individual  books  are  also  related  to  others  and 
to  their  historical  background.  Also,  as  has 
already  been  shown,  to  appreciate  fully  the 
vital  message  of  a  given  writer  it  is  necessary, 


Practical  Methods  of  Studying  249 

not  to  know  his  name,  but  his  place  in  history, 
his  point  of  view,  his  method  of  expression,  and 
his  purpose.  The  Old  Testament  and  Israel- 
itish  history  as  a  whole  are  the  best  and  most 
essential  interpreters  of  individual  books  and 
passages.  The  most  serious  handicap  to  the 
ordinary  Bible  teacher  and  scholar  is  the  lack 
of  this  broader,  systematic,  constructive  knowl- 
edge. Much  earnest,  devoted  study,  especially 
in  the  Old  Testament  fields,  is  deficient  in 
inspiration  and  results,  because  it  is  simply 
groping  in  an  unknown  land.  It  is  all  impor- 
tant, therefore,  to  ascend  some  height  and  spy 
out  the  land  as  a  whole,  to  note  the  relation  of 
different  books  and  events  to  each  other,  and  to 
view  broadly  the  great  stream  of  divine  reve- 
lation which  flows  out  of  the  prehistoric  past  on 
through  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to  the 
present. 

In  order  effectively  to  apply  the  truths  of  the  Remarkable 
Old  Testament  to  life,  it  is  also  necessary  to 
regard  the  point  of  view  of  the  individual  to  be 


taught.     This  fundamental  principle  of  all  ed-  a9es  and  f 

*    .  .      .  *  degrees  of 

ucation   was  fully  appreciated  and   applied  by  moral 
Israel's  great  spiritual  teachers.     The  result  is  ct 
that  the  Old  Testament  contains  truths  marvel- 
lously adapted  to  every  age  and  type  of  mind. 
The  importance  of  the  religious  culture  of  the 


250    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

child  is  emphasized  by  the  comparatively  large 
proportion  of  writings  especially  fitted  to  hold 
the  attention  and  arouse  the  imagination  and 
shape  the  ideals  even  of  the  youngest.  Nearly 
half  of  the  Old  Testament  consists  simply  of  nar- 
ratives. Those  inimitable  stories,  which  come 
from  the  childhood  of  the  race,  have  a  perennial 
fascination  for  the  child  of  to-day.  They  find 
him  on  his  own  mental  and  moral  plane,  as 
they  did  the  primitive  child,  and  by  natural 
stages  lead  him  on  and  up  to  the  higher  stand- 
ards and  broader  faith  of  Israel's  later  prophets 
and  sages,  and  thus  prepare  him  to  understand 
and  appreciate  the  perfected  life  and  teachings 
of  Jesus. 

In  the  modern  use  of  the  Old  Testament,  the 
faithful  application  of  this  fundamental  prin- 
Blble  ciple  also  leads  to  a  most  practical  conclusion ; 

the  stories  peculiarly  adapted  to  children  are 
not  the  mature,  legalistic  narratives  of  the  late 
priestly  writers,  but  the  early  prophetic  stories, 
which  begin  in  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis. 
If  children  are  taught  only  these,  they  will  not 
be  disconcerted  by  widely  variant  versions  of 
the  same  events.  Above  all,  they  will  be  de- 
livered from  the  inconsistencies  and  erroneous 
impressions  which  are  often  the  cause  of  stum- 
bling to  the  child.  The  later  process  of  unlearn- 


Practical  Methods  of  Studying  251 

ing,  which  is  always  dangerous,  will  be  avoided. 
If  the  problems  presented  by  the  priestly  narra- 
tives be  reserved  until  they  can  be  studied  from 
the  broader  and  truer  point  of  view,  they  will 
be  readily  solved,  and  the  great  positive  teach- 
ings of  these  later  didactic  stories  will  be  fully 
appreciated. 

The  subject-matter,  therefore,  supremely  suit-  The  prophets 
able  for  the  earliest  moral  and  spritual  culture  storytellers 
of  the  child,  is  clearly  the  simple  and  yet  pro- 
found prophetic  stories  of  the  Old  Testament. 
It  is  very  questionable  whether  the  many  ex- 
cellent paraphrases  now  current  are  a  gain  or  a 
hindrance.  The  ancient  prophets  and  the  gen- 
erations who  have  retold  them  were  inimitable 
story-tellers.  To  attempt  to  improve  upon  their 
work  is  futile.  A  simple,  clear  translation  is 
all  that  is  required.1  The  interpretation  and 
application  of  their  practical  teachings  can  best 
be  left  to  the  intuition  of  the  child  and  the 
direction  of  the  intelligent  parent  and  teacher. 

It  is  also  astonishing  how  readily  even  a  little  Their  ^fee- 
child  appreciates  the  essential  lessons,  as,  for  ^presenting 
example,  those  regarding  the  nature  and  con- trvtht 
sequences  of  sin,  presented  by  the  story  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden.     Under  the  charm  of  the  at- 

1  A  Children's  Bible  is  now  being  prepared  according 
to  the  plan  suggested  above. 


252    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

tractive  personalities  that  figure  in  them,  and 
the  stirring  achievements,  so  dramatically  pre- 
sented that  they  command  breathless  attention, 
the  early  prophetic  narrations  unconsciously 
and,  therefore,  all  the  more  effectively,  instil 
into  the  mind  of  the  child  the  most  essential 
truths  regarding  God  and  life  and  duty.  At 
the  same  time,  as  they  study  in  order  the  deeds 
of  the  heroes  and  makers  of  Israel's  history, 
they  are  becoming  familiar  with  the  real  back- 
ground of  the  earlier  revelation  recorded  in  the 
Old  Testament. 

The  present       Therefore  scattered  throughout  Genesis,  Ex- 
Ce'rtc^L  odus>  Numbers,  Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  Samuel, 
Kings,  and   the  older  sections  of  Ezra,  Nehe- 
miah,  and  I  Maccabees,  are  to  be  found  in  rich 
profusion  the  material  for  the  earliest  years  of 
Bible  study.     These  should  naturally  be  sup- 
plemented by  the  stories  of  the  prophets,  found 
in  such  books  as  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Haggai. 
Their  sequel  and   culmination  are  the  corre- 
sponding stories  in  the  Gospels  and  Acts. 
Study  of  the      In  connection  with  the  earliest  study  of  the 
sonaf  teach-  achievements  of  Israel's  heroes  and  spiritual 
lofd  5£rta-    lexers,  many  of  their  greatest  teachings  would 
be  appropriated  and  applied,  but  when  the  years 
of  early  adolescence  are  reached,  the  prophets 
in  their  sermons,  the  priests  in  their  laws,  the 


Practical  Methods  of  Studying  253 

sages  in  their  proverbs,  and  the  psalmists  in 
their  psalms,  each  have  certain  personal  mes- 
sages, superbly  adapted  to  the  critical,  for- 
mative years,  when  childhood  begins  to  unfold 
into  maturity.  To  make  this  material  available, 
judicious  selection  and  interpretation  are  re- 
quired. The  organism  of  each  book  and  of  the 
child  must  both  be  carefully  regarded  to  make 
the  adjustment  perfect.  Naturally  this  most 
vital  line  of  study  would  be  the  introduction 
to  a  corresponding  study  of  the  direct,  personal 
teachings  of  Jesus  and  the  apostles. 

This  intensely  practical  work  could  profitably  Study  of  the 


be  preceded  or  followed  by  a  study  of  the  origin  ™wtl"ot  'the 
and  growth  of  the  different  books  and  groups 
of  Old  Testament  writings  and  the  gradual 
stages  whereby  these  Scriptures  attained  their 
present  form  and  authority.  The  guides  in 
this  investigation  should  not  be  the  Jewish 
rabbis  or  even  the  traditions  of  the  Church 
Fathers.  We  have  been  misled  too  long  by 
the  pious  guesses  of  the  mediaeval  saints;  but 
rather  the  testimony  of  the  Bible  itself  and  the 
evidence  of  contemporary  writings  should  be  the 
guides.  The  spirit  should  also  be  frank  and 
constructive.  The  results  cannot  fail  to  be 
practically  helpful  in  a  great  variety  of  ways. 
Thus  on  the  basis  of  facts,  in  the  light  of  his- 


254    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

tory,  and  by  the  use  of  those  methods  of  re- 
search which  alone  command  respect  and 
acceptance  in  other  kindred  lines  of  inves- 
tigation, the  questions  which  come  to  every 
thoughtful  boy  and  girl  will  be  fairly  and 
truly  answered.  In  this  way  those  experi- 
ences which  are  inevitable  in  this  critical  age 
will  deepen  and  broaden  rather  than  destroy  the 
foundations  of  individual  faith. 

Thehistori-  With  this  general  introduction,  many  stu- 
Tpproack  dents  and  classes  will  find  it  profitable  to  ap- 
proach the  Old  and  New  Testaments  from  the 
distinctively  historical  point  of  view.  Begin- 
ning with  the  unfolding  of  the  civilization  and 
religion  of  ancient  Babylonia,  they  will  study 
in  conjunction  the  history,  the  strong  personali- 
ties, the  literature,  and  the  thought  of  each  suc- 
cessive period.  The  advantages  of  this  method 
of  study  are  many.  Each  book  will  be  read 
and  its  messages  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the 
conditions  and  forces  that  constitute  its  true 
background.  The  different  characters  will  live 
again,  and  the  significance  of  their  work  and 
words  will  be  fully  appreciated  as  they  are 
viewed  in  the  clear  perspective  of  history. 
Its  practical  Above  all,  such  a  synthetic  study  of  the  un- 
folding  of  the  supreme  truths  of  revelation  lays 
a  foundation  for  the  individual  faith  as  broad  as 


Practical  Methods  of  Studying  255 

'human  experience.  This  is  to  attain  one  of  the 
chief  aims  of  all  study,  which  is  to  put  the  in- 
dividual into  practical  possession  of  all  that  is 
vital  and  best  in  the  experiences  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  past,  that,  thus  equipped,  he  may 
go  forth  to  fight  the  battle  of  life,  valiantly  and 
successfully. 

This  last  course  of  study  would  call  for  its  natural 
several  years,  and,  more  than  that,  for  enthu- se<}uet 
siasm,  devotion,  and  real  work.  It  would  also 
take  the  student  in  time  through  the  New 
Testament  period,  with  its  literature  and  com- 
manding personalities  and  events,  and  perhaps 
beyond  to  the  great  epochs  of  Church  history. 
Many  would  not  stop  until  they  had  studied  the 
latest  chapter  in  Church  history,  the  noble  mis- 
sionary activity  and  achievement  of  the  past  and 
present  century. 

When  the  Bible  had  thus  been  studied,  the  Advanced 
scholars  in  our  schools  would  not  be  ready  to  1%%%' 
graduate,  but  rather  to  enter  upon  that  still 
deeper   and    more    fundamental    study    which 
would  mean  an  ultimate  conquest  of  the  broad 
field  that  it  represents.     Then  it  might  be  safe 
and  profitable  to  adopt  the  topical  method  and 
study  some  one  of  the  vital  themes  that  are 
treated  from  many  different  points  of  view  in 
the  various  parts  of  the  Bible. 


256    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Study  of  It  will,  however,  probably  be  found  easier 
menthTttory  an<^  tnore  natural  next  to  take  up  in  succeed- 
ing years  the  detailed  study  of  the  nine  or  ten 
great  groups  of  writings  which  are  found  in 
the  Bible.  The  natural  and  easiest  method  of 
approach  to  those  of  the  Old  Testament  would 
be  through  a  careful,  constructive  study  of  the 
history  of  the  Israel itish  race,  perhaps  begin- 
ning with  the  definite  historical  period  of  Saul 
and  Samuel  and  concluding  with  the  advent  of 
Rome.  Far  better  than  any  modern  history 
of  Israel  is  that  marvellous  history  written  by 
its  own  historians,  which  begins  with  the  book 
of  Samuel  and  ends  with  I  Maccabees.  Ana- 
lyzed and  arranged  in  their  chronological  order, 
these  narratives  tell  the  story  with  rare  fascina- 
tion and  suggesti veness.1 

Study  of  the      On  the  basis  of  this  detailed  study  of  the  his- 
*ana' earlier    torical  background,  the  work  and  teachings  of 
narratives     ^e  prOphets  could  next  be  traced  in  their  true 
and   chronological   order.     No  Old   Testament 
field   is  more  neglected  and  none  is  more  in- 
tensely interesting,  when  once  the  student  un- 
derstands the  problems  and  aims  of  each  great 
prophet.     None   has  a  more  practical  message 

1  Volume  II  of  the  "  Student's  Old  Testament "  con- 
tains the  narratives  from  Samuel  through  I  Maccabes, 
thus  arranged. 


Practical  Methods  of  Studying  257 

for  to-day,  provided  its  supreme  truths  are 
interpreted  into  modern  terms  and  conditions. 
After  becoming  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
Hebrew  prophets,  it  would  be  possible  to  go 
back  and  study  with  a  new  understanding  and 
appreciation  the  early  narratives  which  gather 
about  the  beginnings  of  Hebrew  history.  Then 
the  intricate  problems  of  the  first  eight  books  of 
the  Bible  would  vanish  in  the  light  of  a  fuller 
knowledge.  Above  all,  that  which  is  essential 
and  permanent  would  stand  out  in  clear  relief. 

From  the  earliest  fruits  of  prophetic  activity  study  of  the 
it  would  then  be  profitable  to  turn  to  the  later,  ^at^e 
represented  by  Lamentations  and  the  Psalter. 
Here  the  best  results  require  a  classification  of 
the  different  psalms  according  to  their  themes, 
so  that  their  teachings  can  be  studied  systemati- 
cally and  as  a  whole.     In  this  field  of  study  the 
student  comes  very  close  to  the  heart  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  heart  of  the  God  who  speaks 
through  it. 

Less  spiritual  and  yet  intensely  interesting  study  of 
and  practical  is  the  great  department  of  the  Old  g™ d°m 
Testament  known  as  the  wisdom  literature.    He 
that  walketh  with  the  wise  shall  be  wise  (Prov. 
xiii.  20)  is  as  true  to-day  as  when  first  uttered. 
This  literature  is  a  great  mine  of  truth,  almost 
entirely  neglected  by  the  Christian  world.    Sys- 

17 


258    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

tematic  classification  is  the  first  requisite  for  the 
profitable  study  of  the  Proverbs  and  the  later 
Wisdom  of  Ben  Sira.  From  these  the  student 
may  pass  on  to  the  fuller  treatment  of  the  omni- 
present human  problem,  so  sublimely  presented 
in  the  book  of  Job,  and  to  the  many  fundamental 
questions  raised  by  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Wisdom 
of  Solomon. 

Study  of  the  Last  of  all  a  year  might  well  be  spent  in  the 
ment  laws  study  of  the  unfolding  and  concrete  application 
™flsinstlttt~  and  illustration  of  Israel's  ethical  and  religious 
principles  in  the  legal  codes  and  institutions  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Many  of  these  have  found 
a  higher  expression,  some  are  but  symbolic,  but 
others  still  have  permanent  authority  and  value. 
Studied  as  a  whole  and  on  the  basis  of  a  logical 
classification,  this  little  understood  field  would 
also  cease  to  be  a  jungle,  and  instead  would 
37ield  its  own  practical  spiritual  fruits. 


XVI 

RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  —  THE 

FUNDAMENTAL  PROBLEM 

OF   TO-DAY 


XVI 

RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION  — THE 

FUNDAMENTAL    PROBLEM 

OF    TO-DAY 

THIS  very  brief  and  fragmentary  outline  of  The  practi- 
methods  and  possibilities  of  Old  Testament  fan  of  these 
study  is  not  an  impossible  dream.  In  col-  Posslblhttes 
leges  and  in  a  few  Bible  schools  it  is  already 
being  tried  with  the  gratifying  results  that 
might  be  anticipated.  To  put  it  at  once  into 
force  in  most  of  our  Sunday-schools  would  be 
absolutely  impracticable.  It  is  presented  simply 
as  a  suggestion  of  a  definite  and  practical  goal 
toward  which  to  work.  With  careful  adjust- 
ment, these  courses,  adapted  to  different  ages, 
could  be  arranged  so  that  at  least  the  inter- 
mediate grades  in  the  Sunday-school  would  be 
studying  in  the  same  field  at  the  same  time. 
This  plan  provides  for  no  graduation  from  the 
school  of  the  Bible.  It  assumes  that  the  Chris- 
tian world  is  at  last  awakening  to  the  real  sig- 
nificance of  religious  education  and  to  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  fact  that  the  ultimate  solution  of  our 


The  over- 


°dah-schools 


262    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

gravest  national  and  social  problems  is  to  be 
found  only  in  the  inculcation  of  the  true  ethical 
ideals  in  the  mind  of  the  individual.  It  also 
assumes  the  fundamental  principle  that  no 
worthy  ends  can  be  attained  without  real  work, 
enthusiastic  devotion,  systematic  methods,  and 
above  all  a  definite  and  worthy  goal.  It  rests 
on  the  belief  that  the  sense  of  gradual  conquest 
and  the  attainment  of  practical  results  will  alone 
inspire  permanent  devotion  and  evoke  faithful 
work,  and  in  the  end  prepare  the  individual 
scholar  for  the  intelligent  and  loyal  service  of 
God. 

Frank  confessions  are  good  for  a  cause  as  well 
as  f°r  the  soul.  We  must  admit  that  most  of 
our  Sunday-schools,  with  their  vast  resources  in 
opportunity,  in  financial  support,  and  in  the  de- 
votion of  the  teachers  and  officers,  do  not  per- 
manently hold  their  scholars,  and  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases  do  not  give  them  a  thorough 
or  systematic  knowledge,  even  of  the  most  vital 
teachings  of  the  Bible.  The  ignorance  of  its 
literature  and  history  on  the  part  of  even  the 
more  intelligent  students  who  enter  college,  is 
almost  past  belief,  as  many  of  us  can  testify 
from  personal  observation.  The  limitations  in 
time  and  equipment  of  the  Sunday-schools  are 
undoubtedly  great  in  comparison  with  those  of 


Religious  Education  263 

the  secular  schools;  and  yet  the  responsibility 
now  thrown  upon  the  Bible  schools  is  even 
greater  than  upon  the  latter.  Parents  have 
ceased  to  instruct  their  children  in  spelling 
and  the  multiplication-table  because  they  have 
found  that  the  teachers  can  do  this  better. 
Without  justification,  but  by  analogy  and  be- 
cause they  are  themselves  often  unacquainted 
with  the  Bible,  or  uncertain  regarding  its  in- 
terpretation, they  are  more  and  more  leaving  the 
religious  education  of  their  sons  and  daughters 
to  the  Church  and  the  Sunday-school. 

It  is  safe  to  say,  and  this  without  reservation,  The  tran- 
that  the  most  fundamental  problem  in  England  L 
and  America  to-day  is  the  problem  of  religious  ^ 
education,  because  this  lies  at  the  roots  of  all 
else  —  political,  social,  and  theological.  When 
the  Christian  world  awakens  to  its  profound 
significance,  and  when  its  ideals  and  methods 
are  raised,  even  to  a  level  with  those  of  the 
public  schools,  the  other  grave  problems  will 
be  near  their  solution.  If  the  individual  is 
thoroughly  taught  during  the  impressionable 
years  of  childhood  and  youth,  the  fundamental 
principles  of  ethics  and  religion,  society  and 
the  state  will  have  no  difficulty  in  meeting  their 
problems ;  but  if  not,  these  will  perforce  continue 
to  remain  unsolved. 


264     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 
Important         It  is  a  time  for  all  earnest  men  of  every  de- 

that  the  Old  -4.-  i  •*.      •  ±-          .T_- 

Testament     nomination   or  creed   to  unite  in  meeting  this 
be  tauyht  in  nee(j.     in  the  Old  Testament,  Jew  and  Chris- 

the  public 

schools  tian,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  stand  on  com- 
mon ground.  The  modern  inductive  historical 
methods  of  study  have  prepared  the  way  for 
union;  for  they  aim  to  support  no  denomina- 
tional interpretation,  but  simply  to  attain  the 
truth.  The  last  reasons,  therefore,  why  the  lit- 
erature, history,  geography,  and  ethical  teach- 
ings of  the  Old  Testament  should  not  be  taught 
in  our  public  schools  are  rapidly  disappearing, 
and  the  hundreds  of  reasons  why  any  system  of 
secular  education  is  incomplete  without  it  are 
coming  to  the  front.  With  this  fundamental 
basis  of  knowledge  and  instruction,  the  work 
of  the  Sunday-schools  could  also  at  once  be 
placed  on  a  far  more  effective  plane.  It  is  a 
consummation  for  which  every  intelligent  citizen 
should  earnestly  work. 

The  task  of  The  achievement  of  the  last  century  was  to 
the  present^1  complete  the  work  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion  and  rediSCOver  the  Bible.  The  task  of  the 
present  century  is  to  instil  its  essential  teach- 
ings, thus  revealed,  into  the  mind  of  the  indi- 
vidual, so  that  they  will  become  controlling 
factors  in  human  life.  Here  lies  the  great  re- 
sponsibility and  opportunity  of  the  Christian 


Religious  Education  265 

Church.  If  it  is  to  renew  its  hold  on  modern 
men,  it  will  be  through  the  mind  as  well  as  the 
heart,  and  its  most  efficient  method  will  be  — 
as  it  always  has  in  reality  been  —  religious 
education.  Horace  Bushnell  proclaimed  the 
watchword  of  the  Church  triumphant:  "Chris- 
tian culture." 

His,  however,  was  no  new  discovery.  The  The  exam- 
Hebrew  prophets,  priests,  and  sages  were  not  pri- j^jkis 'and 
marily  preachers,  but  teachers.  The  prophetic  Jesus 
messages  which  fell  on  deaf  ears,  instilled  into 
the  minds  of  a  few  humble  disciples,  in  time 
won  acceptance  from  the  nation.  Jesus  him- 
self was  not  so  much  the  preacher  as  the  Great 
Teacher.  His  earliest  public  preaching  was 
but  the  net  cast  to  catch  the  few  faithful 
disciples.  When  these  had  been  secured,  he 
turned  his  back  upon  a  popular  preaching  min- 
istry, and  devoted  the  best  part  of  his  brief 
public  work  to  instructing  a  little  group  of 
disciples.  History  completely  vindicates  the 
wisdom  of  his  method.  Only  by  following 
closely  on  his  footsteps  can  the  Church  hope  to 
realize  its  true  mission,  especially  in  this  age, 
when  the  heart  and  will  must  be  reached  through 
the  mind.  In  this  respect,  it  must  also  be  con- 
fessed that  the  Roman  Catholic  are  far  ahead 
of  the  Protestant  churches  and  Sunday-schools, 


266     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

where    the    preaching    still    overshadows    the 
teaching. 

The  call  for  To  inspire  and  direct  thorough  religious  in- 
struction,  carefully  trained  leaders  are  needed. 
The  demand  to-day  is  for  a  teaching  as  well  as 
a  preaching  ministry,  with  an  apostolic  sense 
of  a  mission  and  a  message.  Men  with  natural 
gifts  and  the  most  thorough  preparation  are 
wanted  to  raise  the  standards  and  to  organize 
and  transform,  as  they  alone  can,  by  personal 
contact,  the  teaching  corps  of  our  Sunday- 
schools  into  effective  forces.  Such  men  and 
women  certainly  can  be  found.  It  is  a  con- 
viction, based  on  a  wide  experience,  that  many 
of  the  ablest  students  in  our  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, who  for  many  valid  reasons  do  not 
feel  the  call  to  a  preaching  mission,  would 
gladly  and  enthusiastically  devote  themselves 
to  the  work  of  religious  instruction,  could  they 
be  sure  of  a  field,  when  their  preparation  was 
complete.  Our  universities  and  seminaries  al- 
ready have  the  facilities  and  could  readily  as- 
sume this  important  responsibility.  As  soon 
as  our  large  city  churches  and  the  federated 
churches  in  our  smaller  towns,  demand  a  teach- 
ing pastor  as  the  permanent  director  of  their 
Sunday-schools,  and  of  the  religious  educational 
work  under  their  charge,  they  will  enter  upon  a 


Religious  Education  267 

new  career  of  permanent  conquest.  The  needs 
are  undoubtedly  great,  the  volunteers  are  at 
hand,  thorough  preparation  can  be  assured ;  but 
the  call  must  come  from  the  Church,  united 
and  awake  to  its  supreme  opportunity  and  re- 
sponsibility. 

It  must  also  be  confessed  that  our  religious  The  anti- 
educational    systems  —  if    such    they    may   be  ^fhods  of 
called  —  are   still   in   the   experimental    stage.  onr,  Su 

°       schools 

They  are  far  inferior  in  every  respect,  except 
in  the  self-sacrificing  devotion  of  the  teachers 
and  officers,  to  those  of  the  secular  schools. 
What  is  most  vital  to  our  national  and  indi- 
vidual life  is  most  neglected.  Instead  of  the 
latest  and  best  pedagogical  methods,  the  most 
antiquated  largely  prevail.  Saddest  of  all,  the 
Bible  which  is  being  taught  in  the  majority  of 
our  schools  is  the  Bible  of  later  Judaism  and 
the  Middle  Ages,  not  the  Book  of  Books  which 
stands  forth  in  the  light  of  God's  latest  revela- 
tion, as  a  message  of  beauty  and  life  to  the 
present  age.  It  is  not  strange  that  there  is  a 
growing  distrust  of  the  Sunday-school  among 
many  intelligent  people,  and  an  appalling  apathy 
or  distaste  for  Bible  study  in  the  mind  of  the 
rising  generation. 

If  we  shut  our  eyes  to  these  facts,  they  will 
remain ;  but  if  we  frankly  face  them,  a  decade 


268     Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

The  crying  of  intelligent  and  devoted  work  will  effect  a 
"  great  transformation.  The  first  step  is  obvi- 
ously  along  the  line  of  improved  courses  and 
methods  of  study.  Many  different  courses  are 
at  present  in  the  field.  All  have  their  merits, 
and  to  those  who  have  developed  them  highest 
praise  and  credit  is  due.  Some  have  been  pre- 
pared to  meet  immediate  and  practical  needs, 
but  ignore  the  larger  unities  and  the  historical 
background,  and  in  general  neglect  the  results 
of  modern  educational  and  biblical  knowledge. 
Some  have  been  worked  out  in  the  study  and 
have  a  strong  academic  flavor,  but  do  not  meet 
the  needs  of  the  average  scholar  or  teacher. 
Others  are  models  of  pedagogical  perfection, 
but  lack  content.  Progressive  Sunday-schools 
are  trying  one  system  after  another,  and  mean- 
time the  note  of  discontent  is  rapidly  rising. 
The  crisis  is  too  serious  to  admit  of  personal 
rivalries  or  prejudices. 

How  to  meet  The  moral  of  the  situation  is  simple :  that 
which  will  fully  meet  the  needs  of  the  present 
must  be  a  combination  of  all  that  is  good  in 
existing  courses,  and  embody  what  is  best  in  the 
scholarship  and  methods  of  to-day.  Like  the 
most  effective  systems  in  the  past,  it  must  be 
wrought  out  in  the  laboratory  of  practical  ex- 
perience. It  must  lx»  planned  tron:  tht  point 


Religious  Education  269 

of  view  of  actual  needs  and  conditions.  It 
must  also  have  a  worthy  and  definite  goal  and 
a  high  ideal.  It  should  emphasize  the  impor- 
tance of  fundamental  religious  instruction,  as 
well  as  preaching.  All  that  is  practical  and  per- 
manent in  modern  educational  methods  should 
be  utilized.  It  should  preserve  the  existing 
superb  Sunday-school  organization,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  unity  of  the  splendid  system 
now  under  the  direction  of  the  International 
Committee.  Finally,  it  should  incorporate  the 
positive  and  illuminating  results  of  modern  con- 
structive biblical  research.  The  task  cannot 
be  accomplished  in  a  moment,  nor  by  one  man 
nor  a  small  group  of  men.  It  is  certainly  im- 
portant enough  to  command  the  best  experi- 
ence, the  ripest  scholarship,  and  the  most 
unselfish  devotion. 

When   this   task  has   been   thoroughly  per-  The  advent 
formed,  and   the  ablest  of  our  educated   men 


and  women  have  been  enlisted  in  our  Bible  ^  °f  the, 

Kingdom  of 

schools,  the  cause  of  religious  education  will  God 
command  the  respect  of  the  world,  not  merely 
because  of  the  fundamental  need  which  it  aims 
to  meet,  but  also  because  it  is  effectually  meeting 
it.  The  Christian  Church  will  also  find  itself 
in  sympathy  and  touch  with  that  which  is  best 
and  most  significant  in  modern  life  and  thought. 


270    Origin  and  Value  of  the  Old  Testament 

Religious  teachers  and  scientific  investigators 
will  work  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  common 
study  and  interpretation  of  God's  many-sided 
revelation.  Pastors  will  feel  the  solid  founda- 
tions of  historical  truth  beneath  their  feet. 
Leaving  behind  the  din  and  distractions  of 
the  transitional  period,  the  disciples  of  the 
Great  Teacher  will  go  forth  with  fresh  zeal 
to  make  the  eternal  truths  of  the  Bible  reg- 
nant in  the  lives  of  men,  and  the  kingdom  of 
God  a  reality  in  human  history. 


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